Fragments of Felicity
by OttersInOddSocks
Summary: "How the hell did an English girl end up in the middle of Kansas?" were Emma Viola's thoughts exactly, for that morning she had no idea that her boyfriend would be possessed by a demon who would hunt her into the unknown and into the lives of Sam and Dean. But even under the Winchesters' protection, the redhead is still at risk as this demon will stop at nothing until she's dead.
1. In the Blink of an Eye

**Hey guys, this is the first chapter of Fragments of Felicity- I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have done writing it!**

 **Some things to mention before are that this story takes place just a while after the series four finale except with a few moderations, for instance, Lucifer hasn't been released from the cage and there is NO apocalypse. I have also changed the Winchester's ages slightly so Sam is 23 and Dean is 28 (basically think of it as Sam left for Stanford but only went for one year so he was 18/19 when John went missing).**

Emma groaned after hearing the sharp beeping of her alarm clock go off at six am Monday morning. She lazily lifted her eyelids and saw the little light of a winter morning streaming through the thick duvet that she had buried herself under. She had stayed up until two last night studying for her stupid history test and all her notes that she'd made on the Cold War had somehow unstuck from her mind that she had spent hours trying to memorise before her short sleep. She slowly got out of bed and indolently changed into her school uniform, which consisted of a white blouse, red and black tie, black platted skirt, that she rolled up above her knees by a generous few inches, a pair of skin coloured tights and black, polished shoes. She put her naturally straight hair in a high pony tail before going to look in the mirror. She was a young, pale girl with dark auburn hair and bright green eyes. Her nose was small and slightly pointed at the top and her lips were coral and cupid. It was a face that attracted many but beauty- as true for every belle- was not always in her favour to the dark intentions of men.

Dragging herself to the bathroom, she pulled out her makeup bag, from one out of the three racks hanging on the right-side wall before going to one of the three sinks in front of the three toilets and two showers.

"Good sleep?" one of her roommates doubtfully questioned as she came to join her at the sink on the left.

"The worst." She yawned. "God, why do I never learn how to spare myself pain by revising strategically?!"

"I always say start revising at least ten weeks early. That's how you distribute the stress"

"Sometimes I wish I had your common sense." Emma joked.

"I'll give you my common sense but my mind is mine and mine alone." They both laughed, Emma started to coat the layers of foundation on her face.

"Thank God, someone looks as tired as I do!" she heard her best friend say behind her.

"I try my best Alex." She said sarcastically. Alex had been her best friend since she arrived here five years ago. Emma originally lived in Cornwall but her parents had forced her to go to a typical English-movie boarding school; it was the same one they went to when they were children- as well as the whole of their country club. Her father was a lawyer and her mother an accountant, both shrewd, both elite, both hoping their children (or offspring more like) would turn into perfect, first class citizens. Well at least Emma's brother, Richard, was turning into what they planned, now in Oxford and dating Elizabeth Bryton, a family friend. Emma was at least halfway there; she got decent grades and was dating her daddy's best friend, Mr Hawke's, son, Dean.

"So, how's Dean?" Alex asked casually as she looked at herself in the mirror hanged on the wall in front of the sink.

"Urgh." She replied in a tired tone.

"Fight again?"

"No, but yesterday, I think all we said was 'hello' and 'goodbye' and then just an hour of silence in the restaurant...I mean I thought he would have tried just a little seeing as it was Valentines' weekend but I suppose I should have gotten the message when he said he couldn't even do it on the fourteenth."

"Hey, at least you had a Valentine, my Sundays are just church, study and crying about my inevitable loneliness, you have someone to call a 'boyfriend'."

"Well, you did have Marcus,"

"Yeah," she scoffed, "for two weeks and that was only because I forced him to go to the dance with me."

"I'd rather not have a boyfriend than go on silent dates." She sighed.

"I've told you a hundred times already, just break up with him. I'm sure it will just be a mutual agreement."

"Yeah with us but not with our parents, especially mine. They were the one who forced us together anyways, all because they go to the same golf club."

"At least he's not as bad as Noel."

"I don't want to talk about him." Emma said quietly, the thought of him causing her to stop applying her makeup for a moment.

"Of course, I'm sorry." The school girl next to her said quickly, knowing that the name she had just spoken of was taboo to her best friend.

"It's fine… don't worry."

"So… are you going to break up with him eventually anyhow?"

"I don't see how. I tend to live in a family who planned my life before I was even born, I don't think breaking up with Dean is on their checklist." She sighed before leaving to go pack her school bag for the boring day ahead; she just didn't know it would be the exact opposite…

X

They went down for breakfast fifteen minutes later, sitting at their table in the cafeteria after grabbing a granola bar from the open breakfast-buffet. Alfie and Kevin came to sit next to them, they were her other closest friends, both identical twins with blonde hair and both freakishly tall and skinny, the only way to tell them apart was the scar under Kevin's left eye, which was given to him in year-eleven after he got into a fight with Emma's ex, Noel, but they were still going out then. Before the spat, it was like telling oxygen apart from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with them. Joined with the twins was a shorter but butcher teen, named Marcus with hazelnut coloured hair that flopped over his eyes, his tie was in the usual messy position that would cause teachers to have their daily lecture with him about it.

"Hey Emma!" Marcus said happily when the two girls came into view. He was a fairly new member to their group, only joining around a month back.

"Hey guys!" Kevin said cheerily, they were always in good humour, no matter what happened.

"Hey Kev, Alf," Emma smiled. "You ready for history?"

"I was born ready." Kevin said broadly.

"Which means he was so panicked this morning he put odd socks on," Alfie laughed.

"Well I've come to the conclusion that I don't mind failing." Alex said proudly. Emma smiled, knowing that her best friend was trying to hide her fear of getting a F.

"Uh-huh," Kevin chuckled. "And I'm guessing your parents are _totally_ okay with you failing after paying their annual thirty-thousand pounds for your education?"

"Hey, they were the ones who are obsessed with me getting an 'elite education'. Mummy and daddy dearest should've been warned when I didn't start speaking until I was three-and-a-half."

"Too bad that now you can never be quiet." Emma giggled.

"Well it's not my fault that I always have something to talk about!" the brunette defended, "Oh my gosh, speaking of that, did you hear about Francesca and Tony?"

"No, what?" Emma asked eagerly.

"Well, let's just say that they were caught in the library doing things other than reading."

"Like what?" Alfie asked.

"Use your imagination you dimwit." Kevin sighed, obviously disappointed in his twin.

"Oh my gosh," Emma whispered, "Were they caught?!"

"Yeah…by Mr Grant."

"Oh unlucky." Marcus chuckled.

"He didn't even let us watch that kissing scene in Romeo and Juliet because he thought it was inappropriate," The redhead reminded them, "How on earth would he react to seeing them doing _stuff_?"

"Yeah," Marcus laughed, "Imagine that!"

"I have no idea." Alex replied before quietly adding, "But apparently, they're going to be expelled."

"They wouldn't do that?" Alfie asked in shock, "Would they?"

"Have you seen this school?!" the brunette girl defended.

"Yeah," Emma sighed, "I guess a strict place like this just makes you want to escape."

"Emma." A voice said behind the redhead a couple of seconds later. She turned around to see the short, square faced brunette of her boyfriend, Dean, smiling at her in a weird manner. He didn't look happy but he didn't look angry either. He just looked like he was a business man doing trade with a client.

"What is it, Dean?" Emma asked in confusion.

"I need to speak with you." He said, with that same smile. Why would they speak if they never even made eye contact except on dates forced by their parents?

"Okay… what is it?" she asked curiously, was it finally a breakup, if so, it would make her day, her father wouldn't be fuming and she wouldn't be blamed.

He laughed slightly before saying, "Not here, alone."

"Okay…" she said slowly before getting up, leaving her school bag under her table in the protection of Alex, who looked as confused as she did. He walked slowly out of the cafeteria and she followed him, he grabbed her arm once they were out, like he didn't want her to get away. Whatever he had to say, she hoped he'd be quick. They walked for another minute or two, not saying a word to each other before he stopped in a deserted corridor.

"Emma." He said in a strange tone, he kind of reminded her of his own father, he was always all about business, even when they were having dinner, both of the families, he always changed the subject to economics somehow and Emma's father would happily join in. The two hobby horses seemed perfectly happy galloping all the way through the night and trampling everything in its path.

"Dean, why are we speaking all of a sudden?" she asked in a confused tone.

"Dean, quite ironic, how many 'Deans' do you know?"

"Um…I only know one Dean, _you_." She said uncertainly. "What's wrong with you?"

"Hmm, maybe it's this body, rather skinny this boy."

"What do you mean?"

"Try and take a guess." He said smoothly with a glint of mystery in his dark eyes.

"Can you stop acting strange please?"

"Or what?"

"Or…I'll break up with you." She said simply, using the benefit of his eccentric behaviour to say the words she'd wanted to from their very first date.

"Fine, we're over." He said in a bored tone. "Now I have another excuse for getting revenge." He said, his grip tightened on her arm and he pushed her against the wall. She screamed but he put his left hand over her mouth, he held her back with the hand on her lips and reached into the other pocket and grabbed out a knife with the other, he put the tip of the blade up to her neck, just below her chin.

"Poor little Emma Viola." He said before his eyes turned black.

Emma's eyes widened and her suddenly she felt her knee kicking him in between the legs, his grip loosened and she ran off down the corridor. She heard footsteps behind her a few moments later. She was breathing heavily, her heart was pounding, she had to be dreaming, no one's eyes could change colour like _that_. Turning down the corridor and finding the caretaker's cupboard, she pulled the door open and ran inside it. There was a key in the inside lock, she turned it and heard a click. She backed away, gasping for air. It couldn't be true…it couldn't. Her boyfriend wanted to kill her, her boyfriend managed to change his eye colour to as black as a grieving widow's veil.

She heard a pounding on the opposite side of the door. "Emma." Dean said angrily, she saw the doorknob twisting back and forth quickly. She screamed. "No one's going to hear you; everyone is distracted at breakfast Emma. Face it, you may as well open the door and I may kill you quickly, if not, I will skin you alive I swear."

Emma felt tears starting to roll down her cheeks, she was going to die. She was going to be murdered, they would find her dead in a closet…what would Alex, Kevin, Alfie do? She would forever be one of those tragedies that would forever stain Finchwood's logo forevermore, the poor Viola girl who was…no she couldn't think that. "Please." She whimpered.

"You've got five seconds to open the door or I will make your life end as painfully as possible… five…four…three"

A light appeared in the shape of a doorway on the back wall, it was brighter than the sun in a clear blue sky and whiter than a pair of angel's wings.

"Two…"

She turned around, it stung her eyes, was she dead, was this a gateway to the afterlife or something?

One..." she sniffed loudly before running towards the light, she didn't care, and she wasn't going to let him touch her. She ran through the gateway, it was painful, it felt like she was being grabbed by the wrist and dragged on the floor for a thousand miles, but she was still running. It hurt her eyes so much it caused her to close them.

Suddenly the light vanished and she heard cars and people along with her feet touching solid ground. She wasn't dead? She was still running, and crying. She opened her eyes just as she ran into someone, feeling the person jump at the surprising collision. Cheeks going red at the sheer embarrassment, she stepped back quickly and looked up at the person she ran into. He was very tall and masculine with long brown hair and dark brown eyes, wearing a red plaid shirt and light brown jacket along with blue jeans, she looked to the right, where he was accompanied by a man who was still tall but fairly short compared to the other and he had short, sandy coloured hair with light stubble, he was wearing a beige shirt and leather jacket and dark blue jeans.

"You alright there?" The short haired one asked with a smile from humour, he had a rough, deep voice and it was American.

"I'm- I'm sorry- I'm so sorry- I- I-" she tried to form a sentence but the shock mixed with the embarrassment mixed with the fear mixed with the confusion got the better of her. A part of her wanted to cry, another wanted to scream but she could only manage choking on her words and hurrying away from the two strangers as quickly as possible.

She looked around panickily for any sense of familiarity, all there was were cars, people and shops but all these individual factors lacked distinctive features. She didn't recognize anything. Even the people had different voices- like ones you'd hear out of a film. Turning around, she attempted to go back the way she had just came, as if she would suddenly end up in the broom cupboard again. A broom cupboard with her murderous boyfriend with black eyes waiting on the other end…

Her eyes suddenly caught the two men again who were staring at her five feet away. Whilst the one she bumped into was looking at her as if she were some fascinating exhibit, the other looked like he was watching Charlie Chaplin in the flesh. It was hard to prevent tears as there was nothing more she wanted than a sense of home. The man with long-hair suddenly turned to his brother and with a quick negotiation, they began walking towards her. Her heart-flipped. What if they had black eyes too? Where was there to escape to this time?

All that she knew is that she didn't want to end up with a knife in her chest so she forced herself to turn around and begin walking. Daringly, she looked behind her a few moments later. They were still following, now looking determined to catch their pray so she quickened her pace but soon hit another body.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" a man in a suit shouted angrily.

"I'm sorry!" she choked on her words, making the man roll his eyes and continue walking down the street.

"Hey!" a soft voice caught her attention. The two men had caught up with her. "You lost?"

"No." she quickly excused them before turning around.

"You look lost."

She tried to move but she couldn't and she needed answers so she slowly turned back around.

"I don't know where I am."

"Yeah, that's called being lost, sweetheart." The short-haired man sharply answered.

"Where were you before?" the man asked, now sounding as confused as she felt.

"Never mind," She said quickly shaking her head, wherever she was, she knew she couldn't trust anybody. "So-sorry for bumping into you." She said nervously to the taller one, feeling too mortified to look at him directly. "I-I should probably, um, I should probably get back," even though she didn't know how to.

" _Are_ you alright?"

She looked him in the eye and thought of everything that had just happened…suddenly she was crying.

"Oh…hey…don't cry." The shorter man tried to assure her awkwardly. "Jesus Christ, Sammy, you just had to make her cry, didn't you?"

"Shut up." The man named Sam muttered. "Did something happen?"

"You- You wouldn't believe me." She sobbed.

"Try us?" the short haired one dared.

"I was in school… _just_ now and- and now I'm here and…and I have no idea how or why."

"Okay- right- where's your school exactly?"

"Finchwood Manor."

"A little more specific?"

"Um…how close to Nottingham are we?"

"Nottingham? The hell is Nottingham?" The short-haired hunter frowned.

"We're in Kansas." Sam stated gently.

"Kansas as in America?" Emma whispered.

"Yeah?"

"No…you're insane…this is England."

"This for hell ain't England." Not Sam chuckled.

"But I was there- in Nottingham- _seconds_ ago!"

"Okay- uh- what's the date?" Sam asked.

"February sixthteenth."

"Okay, so you haven't had a mental blip-"

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm not bloody Jane Eyre!"

"I'm just trying to understand…let's backtrack…what happened whilst you were at school?"

Emma opened her mouth before she shook her head and began to cry again. "You're going to think I'm crazy."

"Already kind of do." The man who wasn't Sam coolly answered. "Might as well let us hear what you've got."

"My- my boyfriend…he wasn't my boyfriend…but he was…but his eyes-"

"What about his eyes?" Sam curiously asked. "They change colour?"

"How- how did you know that?"

"What colour did they change to?"

"Black…blacker eyes than I've ever seen."

"You were chased by a _demon_?"

"A demon?"

"A demonic being…someone who's possessed."

"You're…you're insane." She whispered, slowly backing away from the man fearfully. Once wishing that they could help, she now again felt terrified.

"No- we can explain-"

"No- you stay away from me- the two of you! I'm going to the police-"

"If you go to the police, you're going to end up in a mental hospital." The shorter man stated. "At least we'll believe you."

"Demons don't exist."

"Yes, they do. Hear us out…I mean, it's not like you have anywhere else to go."

She stopped in her tracks again, looking around this strange new world that she would be lost forever in unless she received some form of help. These men definitely couldn't be trusted but who else did she have? Taking a step back towards them she softly said "my name is Emma Viola."

"Hello Emma Viola…my name is Sam Winchester." The long-haired hunter attempted to reassure her with a smile. "And this is my brother."

"Dean." The man answered.

"Dean…" she whispered before her eyes widened and everything that had just happened flooded back to her, rushing into her mind and causing her to sink into black.


	2. The Absent Ruby Red Slippers

Emma woke up in a dark room with a fan over her head. She was in a hard bed, her back hurt and her head ached. She remembered white light, she remembered her boyfriend, Dean, wanting to speak with her…and then him chasing her with a knife. She quickly got up and looked around the room, no one was there. There were symbols on the floor, foreign symbols. Ones she'd never seen in any book or equation. She got up and went to the door but it had no handle. She felt panic rush over her. Where was she; she definitely wasn't in her boarding school anymore. Was it the demon, had he locked her in here so he could…kill her?

"SOMEONE HELP!" she screamed, pounding on the door, she felt herself beginning to sweat from the heatwave of terror.

A little slot opened at the top of the thick metal door moments later and a pair of hazel eyes came into view.

"Where am I?" she determinedly asked, trying to hide her fear.

"It's alright; everything's going to be fine." He said in a calm voice which gave her deja vu for some odd unknown reason.

"What do you want with me?"

"Nothing, we're not going to harm you, I promise, we're just going to help you find what's going on."

"W-what is going on?" She struggled. "I don't understand what's going on. Why am I here? Why did my boyfriend want to kill me? Who are you?"

"We met earlier."

"W-we did?"

"You-you're the man I ran into?"

"Sam."

"That…that actually happened? Oh god…this is actually happening?!"

"I know you must be in a bit of shock right now but try and take a few deep breaths, okay? My brother and I will help you…if you're not a demon."

"I'm not one of those things from before!" She said in disgust.

"I would like to trust you, but this wouldn't be the first time that this had happened…demons have messed with us in the past…often disguising themselves as victims to gain our trust."

"The first time… you do this for a living?"

"Kind of, we hunt supernatural things for a career, me and my brother, Dean."

"Dean?" Emma said softly, slipping to the floor self-consciously. "That's the name of my boyfriend, the one who turned into a demon."

"He was possessed."

"Why?" she said shakily. "Why me, he said he knew more than one Dean, which I technically do now, but I only knew one when he said it to me. Can he tell the future?"

"Sam," A coarse voice echoed from upstairs. "I hear you speaking, is she awake."

The roughness of the voice brought Emma's heart rate up again. She didn't remember what he looked like and his tone made him sound terrifying.

"Are you going to test me now?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah, but don't worry you'll be fine."

"SAMMY?" Dean shouted.

"YEAH, SHE'S…EMMA'S AWAKE." Sam shouted back. She heard footsteps and then the unlocking of the door before Dean walked in followed by Sam.

"So, you're Emma." He said. She felt herself nodding, as the two men looked slightly familiar, Dean now seemed kinder than he sounded, with his bright green eyes and handsome looks. Sam's height was slightly intimidating but his voice was soft, making the two brothers almost opposites. "If you're not a demon, it's nice to meet you." He continued. The two brothers led the way out of the room and up some metal stairs, that seemed to make dull echoes through the basement, and into a smaller room with an older, wiser looking man in there; he was sitting down and accessorised with a baseball cap.

"Alright let's get this show on the road." Dean said clapping his hands together. "Where's the salt Bobby?"

"Balls!" the man called Bobby cursed. "I used it all on that demon…what's his face…never mind, it took a 'lotta torture, including a whole bag of salt, and a hell of a 'lotta of carving but I got there.

"Tor-torture…" Emma said quietly in fear, backing away. "You're mad, you're all _mad_!" she said in disgusted disbelief before quickly running to the door.

"Shit." Dean whispered, looking at his brother who rolled his eyes and looked at Bobby who reacted by shrugging his shoulders in defence.

The younger Winchester ran after her, Emma reached the front door and quickly yanked it open, Sam closed it with one hand and blocked her path with his body.

"Get away!" she demanded panickily.

"Emma, I promised nothing bad is going to happen to you."

"How do I know… how can I even trust you?"

"You can't, and I'm not going to make you, but I can help you, believe me. We want to help not hurt you." Emma eyed him, still not trusting him one single bit. "Look, there are things in this world, we find them, and if they need to be stopped, we stop them."

"But I haven't done anything wrong!" She cried.

"We can't trust you yet, just in case one is possessing you."

" _One_ isn't."

"We don't know that for sure, we just have to take these proportions."

"Can't you just let me go, I-I won't bother you again, I promise."

"If you want us to help you, we will, but we have to check you first. You thought your boyfriend was really him and then he turned. Demons can act, and we're not going to make the mistake of trusting you yet."

Emma ran the options through in her head. She could leave and be away from them…but how would she get home, she was on a different continent, how would she survive?

"F-fine, if it will calm you down." She said anxiously before walking back into the room where Dean and Bobby were waiting.

"Nice to see you again," Dean grinned jokily as she walked into the room.

"Test me." She said confidently as she went to go sit next to Dean on a chair.

"First, drink this." He said handing her a cup of water.

She did, after the water was gone, she handed the cup back to Dean.

"Good." Dean smiled.

"What was that?"

"Holy water," Bobby said.

"Are demons allergic to that or something?"

"More or less, anything to do with God harms them, even their name."

"So God's real?"

"Pretty much, but a douchebag," Dean said, making Emma frown, God, the bad guy? Did they know God, had they even seen Him or Her?

"Wait…so you kn-know him?"

"Doesn't matter. Alright, holy water done." Dean announced, "Last thing on the list, demon blade."

"Dean, we don't-"

"We have to do it, Sammy, just to be certain."

"What are you going to do?" Emma asked in a worried tone.

"We're just going to give you a small cut with a blade designed to harm demons."

She turned to Sam. "You promised!" she said, voice breaking in betrayal.

"I know and I'm sorry; it's just a small cut, okay?" he looked into her eyes, which calmed her slightly.

"Okay." She said quietly before turning back Dean. "But make sure it's small."

Dean took her arm and held it out with his left hand while his right hand held the knife and took the side blade to just above her elbow before adding pressure and sliding it across her arm, drawing a line of seeping crimson. Emma flinched than laughed slightly.

"What?" Sam asked with confusion.

"Nothing, it's just that two Deans have come at me with a knife today." She said, Sam laughed.

"Sorry for thinking you were a demon." Dean apologized after finishing; he picked up a cloth nearby and wiped the blade. "Now I can introduce myself. Dean Winchester."

"I'm Bobby Singer, the man who stops these two idgits from getting killed."

"Let me bandage your arm." Sam said, before getting up and getting a bowl of water, a cloth and bandage dressing and then grabbing a chair and started to attend to her wound.

"So Emma what's your story?" Dean asked smoothly.

"I don't know where to begin."

"Well you're from Britain, aren't you? Let's start from there. How the hell did an English girl end up in the middle of Kansas?"

"I was at breakfast and then my boyfriend wanted to talk to me and before I knew it, he pulled out a knife on me."

"And then you just ended up here?" Sam asked with raised eyebrows.

"Well, I ran into a cupboard and then I was here."

"Cupboard, classic move," Dean chuckled.

"I freaked out, okay?" She defended herself.

"So, where's your school?" Sam asked curiously.

"Finchwood."

"Finch…wood?" Bobby asked curiously before going over to his computer plugged in at his desk, "I'll look that up."

"What year are you in, at school?"

"Year twelve, I'm seventeen."

"And would your boyfriend have any reason to be possessed?"

"What- what do you mean?"

"Is he important in anyway?"

"He's a Hawke."

"Like the bird?" Dean frowned.

"Like apart of the Hawke family."

"Ah, he's a big somebody belonging to a family of pretentious a-holes."

"What about you? The demon wanted to kill you, right? You have any clue why that is?"

"No…I have no idea…he acted like he knew me but I've never met him before."

"Demons often have a motive."

"Well, I haven't a clue why he would be motivated to kill me! I have never intereacted with demons in my life- I never even knew that they existed."

"Maybe they were using you to get to this Dean-kid, maybe he's the reason you got involved?"

"I don't know why he'd use Dean…he hates me."

"I'm sorry, your boyfriend hates you?" Dean-the-adult frowned.

"Dean and I aren't together because of mutual feelings we're dating because our parents want us to."

"Why the hell do you give a rat's ass about your parents' opinion?"

"It's just easier to do as they say."

"Like date a guy you don't like?"

"I've been doing it since fourteen, it's normal."

"Uh-huh, sure." He sarcastically answered.

"My parents have a lot of friends in the club and a lot of them have sons my age…it would be like blasphemy for them not to try to set me up."

"The club?" Sam asked.

"The country-club."

"Country club, so you're quite-"

"Posh." Dean finished.

"Yeah…I guess. Are you not part of one?"

"A country club?" the older brother asked before laughing, "Yeah I think we also play polo on the weekend."

"Wow you must be rich then?" Sam inferred.

"Yeah and seeing as this Finchwood is an elite school." Bobby chipped in from behind his computer screen. "The school is a frigging castle."

"It's not really a castle," Emma defended, "It's a manor house in Nottingham, which used to belong to a lord in the seventeen-hundreds, but he donated it to education."

"Yeah, 'donated' for a price of thirty-big-ones a year." The baseball cap man chuckled.

" _Jesus_ , you really are rich!" Dean said enviously.

"Yeah, well," she said, now feeling a little flushed, "It's not my fault." It was strange, her whole life, she had been surrounded with people that didn't see thirty-grand as anything massive in terms of money. In fact, many of her family friends were willing to spend thousands of more pounds on their children and were happy showing off their wealth. Now, she felt ashamed for reasons she didn't know why.

"Anyway," Sam interrupted her from her thoughts, "You're seriously okay with letting your parents control who you marry?"

"I don't know maybe if it would make my parents happy." Emma said bashfully, feeling as if she were being accused of something.

"If they were real parents they would be happy no matter what you did with your life." Bobby argued.

"I suppose, but after everything that happened…never mind." She said quickly. "It's not like I want to get married to the guy of _their_ dreams but it's just life, you know."

"Yeah, the life of a rich chick." Dean scoffed.

"Anyway," Sam coughed a few seconds of silence later, "What do we have so far? Demon tries to kill a seventeen-year-old English girl by possessing her boyfriend…without an obvious motive."

"Something in this story ain't adding up."

"Nothing in this story is adding up, son." Bobby corrected.

"Believe me, I am as astounded as you are." Emma sheepishly answered.

"And no recent events have caused you to be suspicious?" Sam questioned.

"No…it's been a normal school life…studying, learning, working…nothing out of the ordinary."

"Except being chased by a demon who suddenly has a price on your ass." Dean sighed, making Emma suddenly let out a cry.

"Dean…" Sam shook his head disapprovingly.

"Oh, come on…how frigging much can someone cry per day?"

"I'm sorry," Emma sniffed as Sam grabbed her a piece of kitchen towel. "I didn't really intend to get emotional in front of strangers but so much has happened today and I don't know why!"

"We're gonna find that out, okay?" Sam assured her before awkwardly saying "would you like a hug?"

"No," she wiped her eyes before choking on her words and nodding. Sam went to stand beside her before putting his arms around her shoulders as her hands went to his back. His cologne smelt nice and the warmth of his body soothed her but the calm behaviour of the three men magnified her mortification. "Thank you." She managed to say as they broke apart.

"The real question is is why would the demon send you here?" Bobby pondered.

"You sure it was the demon, Bobby?" Dean answered. "I mean if you're gonna kill a human you kill them, not zap them halfway across the world."

"But if someone- some _thing_ \- else did then what makes Emma important enough to do that?" Sam frowned before turning to Emma, "no offense."

"Believe me, I am in no way significant."

"Well, you are a billionaire-"

"Not a _billionaire_." Emma shook her head. "We're not the Brodeurs."

"Right."

"I just…I just want to get back home…how am I in America…how is that even possible right now?"

"Look, try to not think about that too much." Sam advised.

"How can I not think about it? This whole situation is impossoble and now you're expecting me to believe that demons exist and not just that but one of them want to murder me?"

"We get it. It's a lot to take in…" Sam sighed sympathetically.

"So, what do we do now?" Dean asked his brother. "Take her home?"

"What? All the way to England? She needs a passport."

"Can you call anyone, kid? Your mommy or the Prime Minister…cos you probably know him."

"My parents friends with Tony Blair?" Emma raised her eyebrows.

"Isn't the Prime Minister Gordon Brown?" Sam frowned.

"How do you know that?" Dean questioned.

"How do you _not_ know that?"

"The Prime Minister is Tony Blair?" Emma corrected in confusion.

"Anyway, who can you call?" Dean questioned.

"Probably the headmistress…although I can't imagine what I'd say…I'm sorry for my absence…I accidentally ended up in America…oh and by the way my boyfriend is a demon who tried to murder me so detain him if possible?"

"The Prime Minister is Gordon Brown. Sam was right." Bobby suddenly stated.

"Believe me, I live in the country, I know."

"Well Google is saying that Gordon Brown is. Tony Blair was in the years 1997 to 2007."

"But it's…it's 2004? How do you know when he's going to resign?"

She looked at Sam, Dean and Bobby all staring at each other in mutual concern, making her heart cartwheel panic in her chest. Why were they all acting as if she were some sort of freak? What part of the puzzle was she missing out on?

"Emma…it's not 2004." Sam informed her a few seconds later.

"It is? It's February sixteenth 2004."

"It's February sixteenth alright." Bobby nodded. "But it sure ain't 2004."

"What are you saying?"

"It's 2009." Dean answered.

"Two-thousand-and… _nine_?" Emma asked distantly before laughing coldly and shaking her head. "I can't believe I've been falling for this." She stood up. "I'm leaving."

"Emma, we're not lying." Sam said.

"Yes, you are! Just tell me the truth- what do you want with me?"

"You found us, sweetheart." Dean answered.

"Yes because I was chased by a demon- if demons even exist- how do I know that you two didn't just secretly scheme this whole thing because you're a couple of perverts who prey on teenage girls? I mean, I _fainted_ and I woke up in your basement and now you're telling me that demons exist and I somehow travelled in time…it's insanity! Just take me home and I promise that I won't call the police."

"Look, we know that you must be freaking out right now," Sam softly replied, "But we're not lying to you. This is Kansas 2009 and there is a demon after you."

Staring at the three of them, Emma shook her head before turning around and heading for the door. There was no chance in hell that she was going to stay in that madhouse, believing a word that those three weirdos were telling her. Demons didn't exist- this was all just some cruel joke- and the police would certainly be able to get her back home.

"Emma, where are you going?" Sam chased after her again. "It's not safe out there."

"It's not safe _in here_!" she cried but he pulled her arm and stopped her by the living room doorway. "Just let me go home."

"We can't. Your home is thousands of miles away."

"You're lying!"

"We're not, okay…just listen to us-"

"Please- just let me go!" she found herself suddenly crying again, hating herself for behaving so weakly but all the emotions inside of her causing her to burn up inside. Sam sighed before slowly removing his hand from her arm.

"We're not the bad guys." His tone was promising but his premise was insane. There was no such thing as the supernatural. She stared at him, going to wipe her eyes as he carefully went to retrieve a newspaper from off the table. "Here..check the date if you don't believe us."

Slowly taking it off him, she nervously found the date marked 02/16/2009 in the small black inked that verified her fears. "But- but this is…this is impossible." Emma whispered, feeling her breath becoming dense as if the air was failing to greet her lungs. "This…this isn't happening…this…this has to be a dream…"

"It's not…just let us explain."

"I need to go to the police…I need to tell my family where I am…I need to speak to someone… _normal_." She turned around to walk out of the room but he grabbed her wrist, causing her to yelp suddenly in pain.

She slowly pulled up the right sleeve of her jumper with her shaky hand. When Sam grabbed her, her skin felt delicate and bruised, as if her wrist had been broken. There was a bruise on her lower-arm, a raw red handprint.

"What is it?" Dean frowned, standing up to join Sam and Emma by the hallway. He grabbed her arm, making her flinch in pain again before his eyes widened in recognition.

"Dean, it's the mark you got." Sam realised.

"What mark, what's going on?" she whimpered.

"It's the mark Dean got when he got out of-"

"Sam-"Dean warned. "It's from…Cas?"

"Hello Dean." A man suddenly appeared beside the short-haired brother, causing Emma to suddenly scream.

"Jesus, Cas, couldn't you arrive outside and knock on the door or somethin'?" Dean growled in shock.

"But you asked for me?" Castiel frowned.

"Yeah but I didn't ask for ya to give me a frigging heart attack!"

As Dean continued to scald the stranger in a trench-coat, Sam slowly approached a shaken Emma in the corner, staring at Cas as if he were the monster with black eyes.

"The man…appeared out of nowhere." Emma fearfully told him.

"Yeah…he's…special." Sam sheepishly replied.

"How?"

"I guess that's hard to explain…but he's a good guy- you can trust him."

"I can't trust anyone. I can't trust anyone or anything- I- I mean, I can't even trust my own reality anymore…I have no idea about what's going on!"

"Look, I know it's a bit overwhelming but Cas might be able to fill in a few of the gaps…okay?"

The redhead took a few heavy breaths, looking into Sam's eyes…which strangely seemed to soothe her. He offered her his hand and after a few seconds of hesitation, she took it before slowly following him back into the centre of the room and closer to the mysterious man that had just popped into the scene. She eyed him cautiously like a deer seeing a human in the forest. He looked at her, his eyes an astonishing blue, making her step back again.

"I'm Castiel." He introduced, walking forward as he was confused to why Emma was keeping her distance. "I am an angel of the lord."

"Yeah, you need to quit bragging about that." Dean said roughly.

"I'm sorry Dean; I will not mention my role in the supreme court of the divine anymore." He apologized.

"You're an angel?" Emma said heavily, he couldn't be an angel…angels didn't exist, but then again demons didn't exist this morning, she slowly tiptoed back to her seat, looking at the angel in shock.

"Yes, and I have been watching you for a long time."

"Well that's the creepiest thing I have heard you say." Dean mumbled.

"B-But how is this even possible? You can't be an angel!" She said in disbelief, the more she thought about it the more scared she felt.

"That is my species name; I was designed by my father."

"B-But why am I even im-important?"

"My job is to find out why a demon has such interest in you."

"A demon has an interest in me?" She asked, suddenly feeling a cold chill making her shiver.

"Yes."

"Who?" she asked precariously, she didn't want a demon chasing her, she didn't want to be exposed demons, or angel; she wanted to be in the world where they didn't exist.

"A demon of the name Surozahl," he explained.

"Well that's easy, we'll just summon this bastard an exorcise it." Dean said simply.

"It's not that easy, we can't track or summon him."

"Perfect," Dean said angrily. "Why do they always make it hard?"

"This demon, he's dangerous?" Emma asked nervously.

"From what we know, extremely it seems he can't be tamed." Castiel darkly answered. "But what my siblings and I have managed to gather is that his main intention is to murder you." His honest statement caused her to uncontrollably begin to sob again, feeling lost in a dark neck of a dangerous wood without a hand to hold.

"Maybe try and be a bit less morbid next time." Bobby warned.

"Did I upset her?"

"You basically just told her that a demon wants her ass on a stick…yeah, you made her upset." Dean answered.

"It's just…a few hours ago…everything was… _normal_ and now there are demons after me and angels protecting me and I've travelled four years into the future and- and over thousands of miles away from home and- and I'm beginning to panic…and it feels like everything around me is collapsing!" she cried.

"Okay…maybe you should get some rest…it's a lot to take in and you probably need some time on your own to get your head around it." Sam suggested.

"Good idea, Sammy." Dean replied.

"Okay…okay…is there a spare room I could go to?" Emma shakily answered.

"I'll show you to the guest room." Bobby offered, standing up.

"We have a guest room?" Dean asked.

"Okay, I was going to break the news later; she'll have to have yours or Sam's."

"She can have mine." Sam offered generously. Emma mouthed a 'thanks' to him before following Bobby upstairs.

"So now what do we do?" Dean asked.

"Look after her." Cas answered.

"Not to be rude, but everyone we take 'under our wing' has died and you know it."

"If she is not with you, it will be easier for Surozahl to kill her."

"We're not the best babysitters."

"I don't intend you to sit on babies, I would suspect that to be seen as cruel to humans."

"He means look after her," Sam explained. "And she's not a child."

"I know," Dean continued, "but we don't know the first steps of looking after someone, especially of someone of the opposite sex."

"From what I've learned from watching Emma, she is very independent at most times. She goes to a boarding school, meaning she doesn't see her parents for three-quarters of the year, she won't need parenting figures around."

Bobby came down a few minutes later. "Well she's brave, I tell you that. Maybe a little homesick, I think we should take a few days off before going to slaughter this demon, make her feel comfortable."

"I think that would be wise. I will continue searching for this Surozahl. I will come back once I have more information." He said before disappearing.

"He really needs to work on his goodbyes." Dean said in annoyance.

X

"Well, if you need anything, just call." Bobby said in a soft-but-still-rough tone before leaving.

Sighing after he left and realising she was now alone, she examined around the bedroom, it had a vacant expression and was pretty empty with only a bed, a bedside table along with the lit lamp giving off a dim glow, and a wardrobe accompanied with chest of drawers. This was Sam's room but it didn't have anything to suggest a personality or the slightest information about him. He was still a stranger. They all were. She had just been thrown into this world.

Emma went to sit on the bed in the middle of the room; it was cold and harder than the one at school. Crawling under the cotton sheets and lying on her side, she just knew it didn't feel like home, she just wanted to feel at home. She closed her eyes, trying to escape from reality; it wasn't working, why couldn't she go to sleep?

She wanted to turn off the light but how could she when she now knew there were things out in the dark? Things out in the dark that wanted to kill her and had already tried. _Just pretend you're at school, Alex is right there next to you._ She told herself, scrunching her eyes as tight as she could. But Alex wasn't there. The Alex she knew was seven years in the past and three thousand miles away. She was completely alone.

Before she knew it, she felt tears streaming down her face that she couldn't control. This demon had pushed her out of her home and took everything away from her. She missed her old life so much it forced fierce tears down her cheeks, making her shake violently. She tried to calm herself down but it was no good, why try and stay calm when you know everything is mayhem?

There was sudden noise, floorboards creaking downstairs, making her jump and fear the demon was there. She lifted the duvet above her head with her trembling hands and wrapped herself in a ball, hugging her knees, whispering to herself that it was all going to be alright until she cried herself to sleep in the warm cocoon she had made in this unknown world.

X

Sam found himself outside his room where the redheaded English school-girl was currently staying for god-knows how long an hour or so later. He sighed, not knowing whether to enter and see how she was, seeing as the last time they spoke, she accused him of being some sort of psycho kidnapper. Then again, he supposed he knew how she felt. He too had dealt with a demon on his ass so he guess he had experience that was somewhat useful.

Slowly opening the door, he saw a lump under the duvet that he suspected to be a teenage girl, especially when there was a muffled sobbing accomnied with it. He wondered again about his intentions to communicate with her again but he painfully closed his eyes and knocked on the door. "Hey…Emma…" he sheepishly greeted, opening his eyes as the girl appeared under the covers with red-eyes and messy hair. "I can go if you want-"

"No…no it's fine." She sniffed, sitting up and combing her hair back with her hands as he slowly entered the room.

"How are you?" he softly asked as he sat on the edge of the double bed.

"I keep on thinking that I'm going to wake up…and I'm going to be home…but I don't think that this is a nightmare anymore."

"It's not…sorry."

"So…demons exist…and one- one is chasing me…and now I'm five years in the future over a thousand miles away." She said between tears.

"Yeah…I know, it's a lot to take in."

"I…I want to go home."

"You can't…I'm sorry. It's not safe. We still don't know why it's after you."

"Did that man…the angel…tell you anything else?"

"Not really, no. But he's gonna try and help…he's a pretty reliable guy."

"He's an angel."

"I know."

"A real angel."

"Don't worry, he's just your average guy. I mean, he's a little sociably awkward and he doesn't understand jokes but he's a good guy."

"Who can also appear out of thin air." Emma finished.

"It's a lot to take in…we've all been there."

"I just…I don't know what to do."

"That's why we're here, okay? We're gonna help you through this."

"Promise?"

"We're going to do what we can."

"Okay." She whispered. "I guess…I guess I have to trust you on that."

"Look, it's been a pretty stressful day for you especially…but there's TV and food and a few magazines downstairs." He offered with a grin.

"Thank you for the offer…that's really nice…but I kind of just want to be alone for a bit…make sense of everything in my mind." Emma sniffed.

"Okay, well, if you change your mind." He offered before standing up and leaving her in the room.

Going downstairs, he saw Dean polishing one of his guns on the dining room table. "How is she?" he asked, not looking up and continuing to rub the metal with a rag.

"Uh…not good." Sam admitted.

"Still crying."

"Still crying." He nodded.

"Kids these days…no one teaches them how to be tough."

"I think every kid but us didn't grow up that way, Dean."

"Yeah, well, she was definitely brought up on the greener side of the field."

"She's probably dealing with enough already, Dean, so don't go judging her."

"I ain't judging. I'm just saying that it's gonna be hard keeping Princess Dianna satisfied when this clearly ain't Buckingham Palace."

"She's been grateful so far-"

"Yeah, well I've dealt with enough girls like her. This girl is fricken loaded and there's two words to describe her with: high maintenance."

"Dean," Sam sighed, rubbing his forehead with scrunched up eyes, "give her a chance."

"Look, she needs our help and I'm all up for that. I'm just saying that I ain't gonna change to please her prissy…prissiness."

Sam rolled his eyes. Upstairs, there was a terrified girl but downstairs was an even bigger baby. Tomorrow was going to be tough.


	3. Damp Grass in a Different Country

Light flooded through the thin sheets, causing the redhead to slowly open her eyes. Emma yawned, school, _great._ She lifted the covers, preparing herself to leave the warmness of the bed and surrender to the boring day waiting a head for her. It took her a few seconds to adjust, she looked around the room. This wasn't her room, where was she? Her eyes widened in shock as she remembered, demon, Dean, the brothers, the angel. It had all happened, _everything_. Quickly standing up, she knew she had to get a way but she couldn't. Sam, Dean and Bobby were here to help weren't they? She looked at the bandage on her arm from where Dean had cut her. She was safe, wasn't she?

She slowly walked over to the window and pulled back the curtains, it was dawn; she predicted seven in the morning. The sky was a cold blue, before smoothly transitioning into a warm pink, and dotted with clouds. Emma looked at the peaceful scene outside her cage, feeling jealous of how simple it all was. Maybe, just maybe, she could step outside. What harm could it do? She could get a bit of fresh air and be away from everything she had just been dragged into.

She slowly unfocused her eyes from the outside scenery and turned around to the inside of her room before quietly across treading to the floorboards to the door. Pulling the doorknob open, she exited the room then made her way through the corridors and down the stairs. It felt like forever to get to the door, gently pressing her foot down on each stair and praying that it wouldn't creak. Her heart thumping against her chest seemed to be making more noise than her heavy breathing; she tried to get it under control but how could she? She was trying to sneak out of a house full of strangers that hunted demons for a living. Eventually she did make it to the door but as she twisted the doorknob, it screeched painfully, causing the hunter sleeping in the next room to slowly awake.

She stepped out into the cool-winter air, which immediately made her skin form goose bumps, and her bare feet met grass clammy with dew. Emma walked the perimeter of the front of the house, looking at the piece of architecture; it looked like it had little friends and had lost all hope with all the curtains drawn shut and the house under maintained with peeling paint and broken shutters. Her breathing was more under control now as she took in the air, which was less sweet and fresh then the one back home but it seemed to act as an antidote to the stress poisoning her veins. She went and sat on the grass, not minding that it was wet, she just wanted to stay here for a bit and take in the new world that she would have to get used to for a while.

"Emma?" she heard a voice say moments later, making her jump slightly. She'd been day dreaming about the place she was this time yesterday; had she been so focused she forgot about her surroundings or did the man know how to move as silent as a mouse tiptoeing on air?

"Oh hey…Sam." She said, having to take a second to remember the man's name.

"What are you doing out here at this time?" he asked in concern as he walked over to where she was, which was a few metres to the left wall.

"I don't know, I just wanted to get away and this was around the time my alarm would go off." She said before laughing slightly, "I used to hate that alarm and now I'd do anything to hear the sodding thing."

Sam chuckled before asking "do you want to come inside?"

She looked at him before looking at the floor. "No."

"You sure, it's freezing out here."

"You can go inside if you want; I won't go anywhere I swear… besides, there's no point is there?"

Sam glanced at the door before sighing then going to sit next to her. "Aren't you cold?"

She shrugged, "Back at my house, not my home at school, I lived by the seaside so it was basically freezing all the time."

"I haven't been by the sea in a long time." Sam admitted.

"Haven't you?"

"Nope."

"You're lucky, back at my place, the waves used to crash on the shore and it kept me up at night. I used to think that one day the water would swallow our whole house and I'd have to live the rest of my life under sea." She giggled in embarrassment; Sam laughed too. "It never happened though. The waves never made their way past the tideline. Sorry, I don't know why I just told you all of that."

"It's fine, at least I'm getting to know more about you."

"Yeah because right now I'm just a strangely mysterious, posh, English girl who's randomly travelled continents and time because I'm being chased by a demon." She sighed.

"Don't worry, you're not the weirdest case we've had." He reassured her but when she looked at him hopefully he continued, "sorry, I lied. We've helped English people and we're not strangers to time travel along with people being chased by demons but never all three with one person."

"Do I deserve a medal?" she replied sarcastically as she pulled a few pieces of grass out of the ground.

"Just because your case is something unusual it doesn't mean that it's one we can't handle."

"So I'm just a 'case' now?" she asked bitterly, "This wasn't supposed to happen to me; I'm not the kind of person that gets chased by demons and I know that because I'm shocked to even hear things like that come out of my mouth. This demon obviously made a mistake maybe he got the wrong Emma Viola."

"Demons don't make mistakes."

"Well I'm sorry I'm not an expert it's not like I wanted to know about them, it's not like I wanted this life, like you."

Sam chuckled before saying grimly, "If you think I wanted this life then you're more wrong then you could possibly imagine."

She looked at him before replying "sorry. I'm not usually this rude. You've been kind to me, I mean at first you terrified me and I kind of wished I didn't know you- no offense- but you get what I mean. You've been kind so thank you."

"It's fine; don't worry."

"It's just…I'm supposed to be waking up to the sound of that annoying alarm and it's supposed to be a Tuesday morning...or it wouldn't because time difference- anyway, I'm supposed to complain about the history essay, that I was supposed spent last night preparing, to Alex. Point is, I need to return to my old life, it's who I am and it's all I know. I know nothing about America, I mean I've never even been before."

"No one expects this life to suddenly be burdened upon them, that's why there's people like us, people that protect the ones who have been thrown into it with no knowledge of it whatsoever."

"And how are you with that? Have you found Suro- the demon thing?"

"No, it's not that easy."

"Why? You have an angel on your side…doesn't that mean that you can do anything?"

"Not really, it's complicated. We just have to take it step by step, okay? I know it's going to be hard to get your head around and it's going to be a difficult few days but everything will be alright in the end."

Emma hesitated before asking "All the people you've helped, have they all ended alright?"

The older man looked down at the floor before replying "Some have ended in the way we hoped it didn't- but only some." He reassured her.

"I really wish I could hear that alarm right now." She sighed. "I would probably be in the dining hall right now eating breakfast."

"If it's breakfast you want, we've got food- I think there's bacon in the fridge."

She hesitated before replying "Okay, I guess."

"Okay, I'll make some." He smiled before getting up and then offering her his hand she slowly went and grabbed it before he helped her up.

They made their way into the house and then into the kitchen. Sam went to the fridge and took out a packet of bacon and then a pack of eggs as well whilst she hovered in the hallway. "Can I go take a shower quickly?" she asked hopefully. "I just really want to get out of these old clothes…and then back into these old clothes." She said dully, she wasn't in school but she still had to wear this uncomfortable and now damp uniform.

"Yeah, course but I may have something to help with that." He replied before putting the bacon and eggs on the hob and going to the living room, she followed him. The living room was messy with a large desk by the window with piles of paper scattered on it along with five large bookshelves around the perimeter of the room. There were two sofas and one was messily made with a duvet and a limp pillow.

"You had to sleep here last night, didn't you?" she asked before feeling a dagger made of sorrow stab her in her side. "I'm really sorry, I kind of stole your room. I promise that I'll sleep here-"

"Emma, don't worry." Sam answered. "It's fine, I've definitely had worse than this."

"You've have?" she asked in surprise.

"Yeah, anyway, I didn't come here to make you feel guilty." He said before pulling a clean red plaid shirt out of his bag. "I know it's probably not your ideal piece of clothing but I thought if you could at least change your shirt and into something clean, you'd feel better. The skirt will have to be maintained for another day, sorry."

"No, it's fine… it's perfect." She beamed before taking the shirt from him.

X

She never knew a shower could feel so good. The steaming hot water on her tense skin felt like pure bliss, a way to cleanse herself of all the mayhem from yesterday's and this morning's events she supposed. A shower felt good- normal- like everything was back to routine, it was another way to get her mind together, like the way running did. The cold, crisp air and the burning river pouring on her from above were like meditation, they let her relax, be herself. And she needed some time to feel like herself right now.

She was sad that she had to change into her old skirt once the shower of heaven had ended but was grateful that Sam had offered some help with her limited clothing options. Sam's shirt was incredibly oversized indeed, with him being at least half a foot taller than her and his higher body mass, it came up to her knees and was baggy but she was thankful to him.

Then, going down to the smell of bacon, she went to the kitchen and had her first meal in the house that wasn't her own.

X

She went downstairs once more at around one in the afternoon when her stomach went on a protest for food. Dean was sitting in the living room, reading a newspaper. He looked at her with a blank face and looked back down at his newspaper.

"Hi," she greeted him shyly.

"Hey." He replied in a deep growl, still studying his paper.

"So, um, we didn't really get to meet yesterday…or at least not with me being myself." She said laughing slightly.

Dean seemed reluctant to respond, his face not even lifting off the piece of text beneath him. She was starting to get the impression that he didn't like her very much, was it because he was a man who hunted evil for a living and he therefore wasn't that compassionate towards others or was it because he didn't like her personally? She didn't know what she could have done…maybe it wasn't her, maybe it was just being a hunter and having to be a killer constantly…but Sam seemed kind enough for someone in the same profession.

"Your brother and father were nice." She said, not giving up the chance of being friendly.

"Bobby's not my dad." he said roughly.

"Oh," she said awkwardly. "Is he your dad's friend?"

"My dad's dead."

"S-sorry!" she apologized quickly. Great, now he definitely hated her.

"It's fine, you didn't kill him." He said smoothly but still seemed pretty much uninterested in her.

"So where are Sam and Bobby?"

"Bobby's sorting out other hunters in the other room and Sam's in the grocery store, seems like we've gotta stick around here for a while." He explained in a bored tone.

"Okay." She said slowly.

"Did you come down here for a reason or…?"

"No, it's fine." She said quickly, knowing that Dean would had probably wanted nothing better than for her to leave him alone. "I just thought it was lunch."

Dean sighed, throwing his newspaper on the table and getting up slowly.

"No, don't worry, I'm not that hungry." She lied

"There's some bread and ham in here." He said after searching the fridge.

"Yeah, that's fine, that's great." she said hastily.

Dean didn't look too happy to be making his new guest a sandwich; he acted like she'd asked him to run to the moon and back. She'd given up the hope that he would eventually warm up to her. As Emma wasn't even sure if she was the problem, he was making her feel even more uneasy in this new world.

"Crusts off?" he asked but gave his voice made it sound like he knew the answer already.

"No, _on_?" She answered, how old did he think she was, five?

"Oh," he said in dull surprise, before mouthing 'okay' to himself in an over exaggerated way. "That's Sam's shirt." He acknowledged as he pointed at the plaid top a few moments later, after looking at her for the first proper time of the day.

"Yeah," she answered, happy that an actual conversation was emerging.

"Why are you wearing his shirt?" he asked coldly.

"He thought it would be a nice gesture because I haven't got any other clothes." She explained.

"That's nice of him."

"So, you and Sam _are_ brothers right... or am I wrong again."

"Yeah, we're brothers." He said, a little humour appearing in his voice.

"Okay at least I got something right." She said laughing faintly, joyous at the fact Dean was starting to show a personality.

Dean laughed slightly as well but the door suddenly burst open and Sam appeared carrying four brown paper bags. "Hi," he smiled at the two of them.

Dean shoved the plate that held the newly made sandwich into Emma's hands harshly before returning back to his newspaper finishing the conversation they were just beginning and smothering the spark of friendliness he was finally commencing to express.

X

She went upstairs with her sandwich; the bread was stale and the ham tasted a bit funny but it was still food and it made her feel a bit better. She wondered what had happened just then with Dean, he was acting like he hated her but then they had one moment where she believed they could've gotten on, even perhaps be friends maybe, but then it all just vanished. If Sam hadn't arrived, would they have continued to laugh? It was a question she knew couldn't be answered.

She lay back on her bed and looked at the ceiling. Right now, she would have probably been in her history lesson, with the famously tedious Mrs McKenzie putting the whole class to sleep, talking about the genocide and the importance of it then barking at them about coursework deadlines. Maybe they were starting to get concerned about her absence, being missing for over a day now. Would the police be there yet? Would she be a missing persons report? Be one of those faces shown on news headlines that the whole of England feel pity for, saying 'that poor Viola family' as her face appeared on their TV screens.

She shook her head; she didn't want to think about that right now. She wished she could spare Alex, Alfie and Kev the pain of not knowing where she was or what on earth had happened but there was nothing she could do so worrying about it wouldn't solve anything, it would only make her feel worse.

X

Before she knew it, the sun had gone down. A whole day had gone by and she had done mostly nothing. Bobby called her down for dinner at around seven giving her the opportunity to leave her room for the first time in six hours.

She came down to them all sat around the table, Bobby handed her a bowl of pasta sprinkled with cheese.

"You're a good cook Bobby." Sam complimented.

"He put some pasta in boiling water for a bit it's not hard." Dean grumbled.

Emma laughed slightly at the older brother's comment, they made eye contact and he gave her a hard stare making her look down at her food quietly.

The rest of dinner was in silence, no one really bothering to make conversation. It reminded her a bit at supper with her own family. Unless it wasn't dinner with the country club or one of her father's employees, they would have a small family tea. The Violas didn't have a particular subject that they could all have a good discussion on, her mother and father would mostly talk about their boring day at work and then talk to their children about the importance of politics in society today. It was never a fun part of the day and it made Emma grateful that she was at boarding school most of the year where she could have more interesting dinner conversations with her best friends.

"Well it was good eating with you two boys." Bobby said a few minutes later after everyone had finished. "And you too Emma. These two always prefer to go for junk food."

"I'll help you clean up." Sam offered.

The two went to the washing up sink across the kitchen after they collected the bowls, leaving Emma and Dean at the table. She slowly moved her eyes from the table to look at him; he was playing with the silver ring that he took of his right hand, spinning it around on the varnished oak until it fell flat and then picking it up and spinning it again. He looked at her slowly, letting the ring fall down on the table with a clang.

"What?" he asked gruffly.

"Nothing." She replied quickly.

He lost interest after that and continued to play with his ring, leaving Emma in silence.

X

Sam went up to see Emma at ten at night. He knocked on the bedroom door, there was no answer so he slowly entered the room; he couldn't see anyone there, until he saw a large lump under the covers. He heard a quiet sobbing noise that was muffled. He stood at the doorway for a few moments, not quite knowing whether to leave or stay. He hardly knew the girl but, after experiencing his life being changed for the worst, he knew how hard it was to adjust to. "Hey Emma." He said quietly before hearing the sobbing stop and the duvet rustle before seeing Emma's face appear from under it.

"Hi." She sniffed.

"Hi, you alright?" he asked in concern.

"Yeah…no…I don't know." She said softly.

"Missing home again?"

"Yeah, I just have random moments when I just realize I'm being hunted by a demon and there are such things as angels, along with being pushed seven years into the future."

"Well, when you put it like that." Sam said as he went and sat on the side of her bed.

"I just…I thought I knew what was going to happen in my life, get good grades, go to Oxford along with the rest of my family, marry a rich guy and have a posh, snobby family." She laughed. "I didn't even realise how boring of a life that was until I met you guys."

"I guess we've turned your life for the worst huh?" he joked.

"I would probably think so." she said before laughing.

"So, what's your context?" Sam asked, realizing that they hadn't had a 'get to know you' session yet. She was still a stranger and he guessed that's how she felt about him as well.

"My name is Emma Viola, I am from Cornwall, it's at the end of England; it looks like a shoe. My mother is an accountant, my father is a lawyer, my brother-"she was interrupted by Sam laughing slightly. "What?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing," he chuckled, "it's just… you started talking about your family, not _you_."

"Oh, sorry," she said blushing slightly. "Well I went to boarding school at twelve, it was set up by my parents, no surprise, they obviously wanted me to have the best upbringing so they could brag to all of their country club colleagues."

"You're doing it again..."

"I'm sorry, I guess I'm just know as the 'Viola's daughter' more than myself."

"Not to me you're not, okay, let's start with your favourite color."

"My favourite colour would have to be green, like emerald green."

"Okay we're getting somewhere, favourite food."

"It would have to be pizza."

"Classy for a rich girl,"

"Thanks." She laughed, "Well, I guess if I was playing up to my true personality it would have to be sauté potatoes accompanied with tender rump steak and a béarnaise sauce on the side."

"Okay, now that sounds more like posh girl talk." Sam chuckled. "What about your birthday? When is it?"

"October 4th."

"So, your age is?" he asked, forgetting what the girl had revealed it to be from yesterday.

"Seventeen."

"Oh, I thought you were older?"

"I think the phrase is 'mature'." She corrected, Sam laughed; she did act very grown up indeed.

"So how was your childhood?"

"Complicated, it was good and then went right down to bloody awful." She replied in a sad sigh, her right hand going to stroke the bracelet on her left wrist.

"Really, why?"

"I'd rather not say." She said quietly. Looking at the way her eyes lost their shine and her voice turned to barely a whisper, he could tell it wasn't something she wanted to discuss.

"Okay," he nodded, understanding boundaries. "What about best friend?"

"Alex, she's my best friend."

"How did you meet?"

"School, we were forced to be pairs for a science experiment and we had instant chemistry." She punned, causing Sam to chuckle at her cheesiness.

"What's that?" he asked curiously, looking at the accessory on her left wrist that she was fondling with gently.

"Oh," she said, sounding startled before looking down at the white-gold band attached to a delicate chain, that was made of the same material, with the letters ' .LXXXI' engraved in small writing on the far-right corner of the band.

"Who was born on the ninth of November?" he asked, guessing it was a date, as he remembered his Roman Numerals but couldn't figure out the last number.

She didn't answer and instead covered the bracelet with the sleeve of his plaid shirt she was wearing. "It's nothing." She replied in embarrassment, "I mean it's something- of course- but nothing important.

"Oh, sorry," he apologized, "I didn't mean to offend you-"

"It's fine, seriously," she smiled but he could tell it was passed fake, "What-um- what were we talking about?"

He smiled softly before quickly changing the subject. "Favourite movie?"

"Dirty dancing," she said instantly.

"Oh God, you're not one of those girls, are you?"

"It's a great film." She defended. "I bet you haven't even seen it."

"No, but even by the name, _dirty_ and _dancing_ ," He shivered slightly.

"Say all you want but I won't see your opinion as valid until you've seen it."

"Alright, alright, case closed for now. Umm…if you weren't being forced to be a lawyer, what would you want to be?"

"That's a hard one," she admitted. "I'm not sure, a journalist?"

"Why's that?"

"I like English, I suppose, and writing."

"What about best memory?"

Emma closed her eyes for a few moments, smiling lightly. "We were all at the beach, I was around ten, me, my parents, my brother, my- just all of us, and we went down one day, our parents just decided it out of the blue. We had a picnic and we just had a fun family outing, it felt like we were a normal family going to the beach, laughing, building sand castles, just for one day it felt normal to be a Viola."

"That sounded nice." He said, he could relate to wanting a normal family. "What about worst memory?" Emma went mute; she looked down and stayed silent until Sam said

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine." Emma said, putting on a smile. "So, what about you? Surname?"

"Winchester." Sam answered.

"Favourite colour?"

"Red."

"Birthday?"

"May 2nd."

"Favourite food?"

"Salad."

" _Salad_?" she laughed.

"It's actually nice." He defended himself.

"Whatever you say. So, how was your childhood?"

"Wasn't really a childhood if I must be honest."

"Why?"

"Let's just say that we were raised as hunters, we didn't play with stuffed animals, we played with guns."

"Sounds harsh." She said gently.

"It's life." Sam repeated her words, Emma smiled sadly.

"Um, best friend?"

"I've had friends but I've never had a best one."

"Never?"

"We never stayed in one place too long."

"What about favourite film?"

"I remember seeing a movie on the TV in the motel when I was around thirteen; it was called 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. It changed my life actually, got my interested in law."

"So, you wanted to be a lawyer, instead of a hunter?" she said, cocking an eyebrow, running through her mind the probability of her parents liking him.

"Yeah, I actually left home to go to Stanford in California, I went there for a few years, and I could have actually become a lawyer if…let's just say that I was destined to hunt the evil."

"Can't you just give up the hunting career?"

"No, I've tried more times than I can remember but now every frickin' demon knows who we are even if we'd stop, they'd still come after us. Besides, we save lives so maybe it's worth it, even if it's just a bit."

"Was Stanford your favourite memory then?"

"Part of it, leaving Dean, leaving my dad, it sounds kind of selfish now, but I really enjoyed being on my own."

"What about your worst memory?"

"All of them kind of come into a giant clump of one horrible memory."

"Your life sounds shitter than mine." She said sadly, she thought her life was horrible.

"We have different crap going on; it's all just crap in the end."

"True." Emma agreed, she knew hers was crap in many different ways to his and maybe they were equally as bad but too hard to compare.


	4. Rise and Shine

**Short chapter today, sorry guysss but I hope you enjoy!**

 **Please follow, favourite or review if you like the story so far (it means a lot!)**

They talked for what seemed like hours, Emma found Sam extremely interesting, they were both the similar yet very different at the same time. She hoped he found her interesting as well, she needed a friend in this new country, era and what seemed like universe that she now had to live in.

She woke up slowly, the room was flooded with light from the window and was on the bed that was not the one she had back in England. She yawned and found the body of Sam lying on the floor, hair covering his eyes. Laughing slightly, she remembered all of the facts about him, his name was Sam Winchester, favourite colour was red, favourite movie 'To Kill a Mockingbird' she heard the door open and quickly lay back down on the bed.

"Rise and shine." Dean shouted.

Sam suddenly awoke and shot up at the noise of his brother's loudness, causing Dean to cackle.

"I always love his reaction."

"What's the time?" Emma asked the older brother standing in the doorway.

He looked at her smile falling off his face and his eyes losing their shine before answering grimly "Twelve."

"Already?" Sam asked tiredly as he rubbed his eyes.

"Yep."

"Does that mean I can have lunch?" she asked.

"We'll get pie on the way."

"On the way where?"

"We're taking you to buy clothes, don't need you borrowing anymore of Sam's." He replied bluntly.

"Thanks." She said shyly, the skirt was starting to get on her nerves a bit.

X

Sam, Dean and Emma went out to the black impala.

"Now that's a nice car." Emma admitted, she caught a cheeky grin appear on Dean's face for an inch of a second before it falling to cold as stone again, like a statue carved with a forever blank expression.

He got in the car with Sam accompanying him in the front and Emma in the back before they raced off to the nearest clothes shop.

X

They came back five hours later, Emma was grinning and Dean and Sam where weighed down with bags from several various shops.

"Why do you even need these many clothes anyway?" Dean said angrily, dropping the bags on the floor in relief.

"I don't know; it's was your fault for offering to go to 'The Gap'" she replied.

"You guys seem to be having a struggle there." Bobby said as he walked into the hallway. "Alright say it quickly, how much did you spend?"

"Five hundred and fifty dollars," Sam said quietly.

"Balls!"

"Well it's not like we pay for it anyway," Dean defended.

"Well I think I am going to go and unpack." Emma said as she took four of the bags out of nine.

"I'll help you." Sam said laughing slightly.

They walked up to the room that the redhead was currently staying in. They set the bags down.

"Thanks." Emma smiled.

"It's fine." He replied. "Are you finally happy to be able to wear something new?"

"Yep and especially happy to be able to wear makeup again," she said in excitement, she didn't remember spending a whole day without her foundation and mascara, she felt bare without them and it was especially hard not having her face made up in front of strangers.

"Really? Your face looks fine without makeup."

"Yeah, sure." She said sarcastically.

"I'm serious, why do you wear it?"

"It makes me feel better." She shrugged.

"But wouldn't it be better to not hide your face away?"

"I don't know, I've prefer to, I don't know why but sometimes it's good to be hidden." She replied in a faint whisper. "Anyway… should probably start unpacking these bags."

"I can agree with you on that!" Sam agreed, going to open the dusty wardrobe door, which looks like it hadn't been open in fifty years. Emma followed him and saw that there were some other various pieces of clothing in there.

"Oh wow," Sam said in astonishment. He took one of the plaid shirts out. "These were mine from years ago."

"Really?" Emma grinned in interest. "Did you stay at Bobby's a lot?"

"A few times, when I was a kid," he said with a chuckle. "Guess Bobby doesn't go in here while I'm gone."

"Let's see that?" she asked, Sam handed her the shirt. She studied it before holding it up against herself and then up against him.

"You weren't a tall child?" she asked in astonishment, wondering if his growth spurt had just miraculously happened in one night.

"Nope, actually kind of short, but," he searched through the wardrobe and grabbed another shirt that was old with its dusty aroma and its faded colours, "I think I was thirteen when I used to wear this and…" he held it up to measure it against her, it looked like it would fit Emma, if not be a bit too big for her.

"Okay you were freakishly tall for a teenager." Emma giggled.

"How tall are you, five foot seven?"

"Five foot six," she said quietly.

"Aww, that's adorable." He cooed in a mock-cute voice.

"Shut up." she said before laughing.

"Alright I am going to leave you to unpack." Sam snickered. He left the room to let Emma unpack the several bags that made the small house in the middle of America feel slightly more like home.


	5. Fairy Tales

The next two days went fairly quickly. It had been mostly sitting in the house, having casual conversations with Sam and Bobby. Dean was still giving her the cold eye, acting more like an enemy than a friend. She didn't understand why he hated her, there were moments where he acted like he could like her and the rest he was treating her like the sister he never wanted to be born. She found out more about the brothers' history with the baseball-cap man, there were parts that seemed to be vacant but she also had that way of communication with them. She couldn't write a letter or signal any of her family or friends about the news of her being okay and alive, she'd had a whole lecture on how if she involved people she loved, Surozahl would just find a way to use them as bait to get to her. It hurt, she missed them and she knew that pain was never going to go away, it was her first insight to what Sam and Dean's lives were like constantly. She missed Alex the most, her humour, her jokes, just her smile as well, but she would be twenty-three now, finished with school, equipped with a job, maybe have a boyfriend, maybe a mother, there were endless possibilities. Michael was probably married to his snobby girlfriend, mum and dad maybe grandparents, probably still in their country club. A few days ago, she knew them all but now they probably wouldn't recognize or even remember her; they probably weren't even the same people anymore. But she would go back, wouldn't she? They would find a way to send her back; she couldn't be stuck in this demon's trap forever, could she?

She walked down for breakfast at eleven on that Friday morning, finding Sam and Dean packing a small luggage bag each.

"Where are you guys going?"

"We found a job, just a mile off the boarder of Kansas, three murders." Sam explained while shoving a shirt into his bag.

"What so something killed it?"

"Something not human, yes."

"Sounds interesting." She said casually. They both looked at her in unison.

"No, you are staying here." Dean said firmly.

"Why?" she asked curiously.

"Because we don't need you slowing us down." He said harshly, making Emma feel slightly nervous towards him for his callous comment.

"I haven't been outside in two days." She reminded them.

"I know, but you can't come, it's no place for people with no experience." Sam said kindly.

"Urgh." She rolled her eyes, she knew they were right but she was starting to go mad in this house.

"We'll be back tomorrow." He said before they both headed out of the door, leaving Emma with Bobby in the kitchen.

X

The next day was pretty boring. Bobby was doing some heavy research into a case. She found out that he had other hunters working for him; it was like a whole business for killing the supernatural. It was quiet in the house without Sam being there to be nice to her. At least the next day was the first chance to get her head around her whole situation. Demons, time travel, Winchesters. Time travel, Winchesters, demons. Winchesters, demons, time travel. Nothing had seemed to happen yet. Everything seemed normal except she was in a different house with different people but when she found out those supernatural beings existed, she would expect to see them everywhere, or expect this demon to be on her tail constantly but nothing had happened.

She took the chance of solitude to explore the house. If she was going to stay here, she at least wanted to find the history of the house a bit. She first went into the living room. It had a desk full of papers on it, she avoided that, it looked important and one thing her parents certainly taught her was not to intrude when you have no excuse. She went past the couch where Sam was staying on to get to the bookshelf. It was packed to the limits of old looking books, covered in dust, she picked one randomly out from the bookshelf and saw that it was an ancient looking book with a dark blue, velvet cover. She wiped it with her sleeve to make the title clearer. It read 'The Myths of Banshees'. The book smelt old, the aroma that told you that its words had been read and studied a hundred times by a hundred-different people. She smiled, knowing that if she closed her eyes and tried very hard, this smell could help her believe she was in the school library. A place that held Dickens and Shakespeare and all in-between. But this wasn't her school library; it was far from it. Although this being true, she was still holding a book in her hand so maybe it wasn't as different as she believed.

"You can read that if you want." She heard Bobby say behind her, distracting her from her sad thoughts.

"Sorry!" she apologized quickly, turning around to face the man, who had just come out the kitchen.

"It's fine; to be honest I'm glad someone's finally paying them attention." He said warmly.

"So, Sam and Dean don't read?" she asked in confusion, she loved reading and never knew anyone who could happily refuse a book.

"Dean? God no! Sam used to but, after he left collage, he slowly forgot about it."

"But how could anyone not want to get lost in a world that wasn't their own?" she asked before frowning at the words she just said.

"Feeling like you're in a book?" he chuckled.

"Just a bit." She admitted.

"How are you finding your 'fairy tale' so far?"

"It's not like the ones in the books that for sure." She laughed.

"Well you're certainly holding up well."

"Thanks." She smiled even though she knew that she really wasn't. "I've just been looking around. Is there anything interesting about this house?"

"Well I've lived here for around thirty-five years. A lot of family drama has happened in this house, I'll tell you that, but it's still home."

The phone started ringing. "I should probably get that, feel welcome to look around the house." He said before leaving back to the kitchen.

Emma continued looking; she went around the rest of the house. She found some peculiar artefacts around the house she didn't want to particularly know about, let alone the symbols- possibly satanic- painted in random places of the house in hot-red. She managed her way down to the panic room before taking a shaky breath to enter it. It was the first place where she woke up in this house, she remembered how scared she was, waking up in the cold, dark room on the hard bed, not knowing where she was.

The last time she was here she was too nervous and scared to pay any attention to what was going on but now she could see every detail of the room. The foreign symbols on the wall, the pentagram on the floor, the desk on the far-right corner and the fan inducting cold air into the room and making a loud, unsettling noise.

"Hey," a voice said suddenly, making her jump, she turned around quickly. It was Sam.

"Oh." She sighed in relief. "Hi."

"I'm sorry," he apologized, walking forward slowly. "I didn't mean to scare you, Bobby told me you were down here so-"

"It's fine, it's just-"

"This room?"

"Yeah, I don't even know why I'm down here," she laughed slightly. "I just wanted to look around."

"Well it took you a lot of guts to come down here."

"Really, everyone's telling me I'm brave, how am I even close to being that?"

"You are brave, I mean you find out you're being hunted by a demon and you've been separated from your family and friends because your seven years in the future and you're asking how you're _brave_?" he asked with a grin. She grinned too; it relaxed her a bit, hearing him call her brave.

"So, you hunted the ghost?" she asked, feeling weird when she did, that certainly wasn't something she asked every day.

"Yeah, it wasn't the hardest job we've ever been on."

"And it wasn't scary at all?"

"Not really anymore."

"Wow, talk about brave." She said she couldn't imagine ever not being afraid of the paranormal things out there. She hoped she would never not be.


	6. The Metaphorical Sandwich

The next day she came down to get lunch. Dean was in there, reading his newspaper once again. Sam had gone out a few hours ago, to help Bobby out with a local hunter and Dean was there babysitting. He glanced at Emma when he heard her approach and sighed heavily before throwing his newspaper down on the table and storming over to the cupboard to get the bread and ham out of the fridge.

"I suppose you want a friggin sandwich again?" he asked grouchily.

"You don't have to make me one you know, I could always make it myself," she said, feeling quite fed up with the whole 'sandwich' routine.

"It's just a sandwich but who's going to take care of you from that demon huh?"

"Is this why you hate me, because you've been forced to take care of me?" she asked suddenly feeling angry, why was it her fault? She didn't want a demon to chase after her to steal her away from her home, to take away everything that she loved.

"No, who the hell said I 'hate' you?"

"You did!" She suddenly snapped, the words coming out more violently then she intended but it felt satisfying, she finally felt herself telling him exactly how she had felt for the last few days. "You've been treating me like I'm some annoying little sister that you've been involuntary made to look after and you obviously dislike me one way or another. I'm sorry that I've been forced to be 'adopted' by you- or something- but I'm not exactly happy with being shoved out of my home and five years into a future by a demon because he wants to kill me for God knows why! So I'm sorry you have to put up with me but I've tried to be nice to you and all I'm asking is for you to at least try and be nice to me too because I'm fucking scared of why I'm being hunted and you're not helping!" she said, her voice raising to almost shouting level.

"Wow." Dean said smoothly, stopping the whole sandwich making process.

"I'm sorry." Emma said quickly. "I didn't mean to get discourteous- "

"No, it's fine, you finally showed the real you a bit."

"I'm not normally like that." She said quietly.

"Really, cos I think that's the person you're hiding away in there." Dean smirked.

Emma laughed slightly before going to sit down on a chair; Dean followed the girl's actions and sat on the chair opposite her.

"Why do you hate me Dean?" Emma asked nervously.

"I don't hate you." Dean admitted softly.

"Then why were you acting like you did?"

Dean sighed heavily. He guessed the truth would have to come out of his mouth for once. "You're with us; you are in the protection of Sam and Dean Winchester. That means you're automatically cursed."

"Cursed?" She asked curiously.

"Sammy and I have a tendency to put the people that have anything to do with us, in danger. We don't tend to give the people we're close to long life expectancies, innocent people have died in our care whether they're trying to protect us or us them, family, friends, lovers…you name it."

"Are you trying to tell me that I'm going to die?" she questioned nervously, her voice going brittle and high, she knew the demon wanted to kill her but she thought that their trade was to keep her safe not give up and throw her to Surozahl.

"No." he answered roughly. "We're going to do our damn job is to help you so we're going to do it. I'm just saying that it's happened before and I've grown used to the possibility being on the table."

"So… you hate me because I might die?" she asked in confusion, Dean's confession not making sense to her.

"I don't hate you…and no, I'm just tired of every person close to me dying and so I thought if I could just not get a chance to become gooey and warm to you, it would be easier on me if something did happen to you. Because I'm sick of those bastards ruining my life again and again even when I think they've hit an all-time low."

"That's why you've been acting like this towards me?"

"Yeah and I'm sorry if it sounds like a crappy answer but it's been too many shitty years of experience to be so naïve to let it happen again."

"I suppose I understand a bit…but I don't intend on dying and maybe everything will turn out fine. But you obviously seem to have a different opinion so should we just forget this conversation and you can continue to act like you hate me?" she asked cocking an eyebrow.

"I can't be friends with you Emma." He said in a serious tone but all the roughness had gone and was now as tender as a steak that had been pounded with a hammer for a number of hours. "I just can't."

"I know, you're worried about being hurt again, but I'm not sure how long I'm going to be here. I could be here for ages, and I know it's a risk but it would be much easier if we got along. It's funny because I kind of had the same situation with my other Dean-the one that got possessed by the demon- our parents made us date; we were the source of our parents' happiness, the Viola's daughter and the Hawke's son joining the two families together. We hated each other of course." She said laughing slightly. Maybe Dean Hawke didn't seem as bad now as he did five years in the past. "We had nothing in common except the country club our families were both apart of, on the dates scheduled by our parents, we barely spoke or did anything, we thought that if we didn't communicate our relationship would be more bearable but now I'm thinking that if we at least tried to be friends, our forced relationship would be an easier one to be in." she explained.

"So, I'm guessing the Deans you know are all dicks?" Dean asked with a chuckle.

"Yes, I suppose you could say that." She giggled. "Or maybe Deans naturally don't like Emmas."

"Nah, I think Emmas are great." he complimented with a jokey wink.

"Thanks," she laughed. "Maybe I could find a great Dean?"

"Maybe," he said, voice falling lower. "Maybe you could be right, it no use pretending to be a dick towards you anymore, now that you know."

"So…friends?" she asked hopefully.

Dean hesitated before smiling. "Screw it, God already hates me enough. Friends."


	7. Just an American Movie

It was the week anniversary of Emma's arrival, one whole week. One week since she had travelled in time, one week since she had met Sam and Dean and one week since she had found out that Surozahl was on her tail. Cas hadn't made another appearance. The strange angel, which was nothing of her expectations, protecting her, it still surprised her that she had guardian angel. She missed home a lot, but she felt like she could survive here. It wasn't too bad, Sam was someone to talk to, Dean was someone to laugh with and Bobby was the wise one of the group. Improvements were made in the last couple of days; she and Dean grew closer as each day went by. His behaviour towards her definitely friendlier now than it was before, his barriers to protect himself from sadness had now fallen down, even though she knew she would not die and therefore sadness wouldn't be caused. Sam and her relationship was also growing stronger, her being more talkative and confident towards him. Bobby told her more about the lives that they had all been living with his grim humour and his fatherliness being shown more in his character each day.

She wondered what Alex would think of her new 'companions', she would probably be ecstatic with Dean's handsome features and Sam's body. The redhead definitely missed her best friend a lot, it had felt like a lifetime since they'd talked or even saw each other, she was the one who made her feel most homesick. How would have reacted when her best friend mysteriously went missing? Emma shivered thinking about it, how could she have done that to her best friend? What about her boyfriend Dean- ex-boyfriend now, as Sam had told her that they were probably broken up and she didn't mind that anyhow so it was quite a relief- what if he was in prison, arrested for kidnap or even murder? They may have no evidence for her being dead but they also had no evidence for being alive. It was too hard to think about; the way someone's life could change so much after someone had disappeared or died. The deceased normally wouldn't be around to see the after effect, but she was still there.

Everything had changed, _everything,_ in this one week. Even though she was holding up pretty well in this world, she didn't know how the others were doing in the other world, her home world, the one five years ago.

They had finally left the house. Emma had started to go mad; it was like going on a holiday and staying in the hotel all the time. It took a day and a half to convince them, but they finally given in and went out in the Chevy Impala for dinner, except for Bobby who had clearly made it clear that he resented public events.

They went to a diner five miles south from Bobby's. It wasn't the five-star restaurant that her and her family went out to every Saturday but it was the outside, with fresh air and people with normal, uncomplicated lives.

"Hi, what can I get ya'll?" a youngish woman came up with a notepad and pen.

"I'll have the chicken salad thanks." Sam smiled at the waitress.

"Ew," Dean said in remorse to his brother's decision before grinning up to the waitress with a flirtatious spark in his eye. "Hey there, I'll have the bacon burger, and she will too." He said, gesturing his eyes to Emma. "Trust me you won't regret it." he informed the redhead.

"So, what's so good about this burger?" she asked curiously to Dean after the waitress left.

"The question more like is what's _not_ good about this burger?" Dean chuckled. "Seriously once you've tried it, you will never judge a burger again."

"Oh wow, seems like you're giving me high expectations on this burger." She smirked.

"You got any competition?"

"Yes, Gourmet Burger Kitchen, the beef burger with American cheese is like heaven that melts in the mouth." She advertised. "Me and my friends went once, when we were on a school outing."

"Yeah but while your cute, little, posh burger in the UK may be lovely in many ways, it is _nothing_ compared to this true American beauty."

"You wanna bet?" Emma said raising an eyebrow slyly.

"You're on." Dean said seriously giving her a mock-threatening look.

"I can't believe you guys are fighting over a piece of meat in a bun." Sam interrupted their little battle.

"Hey at least it's not green shit."

"It's not fat on a plate though is it?"

"Anyway Em," Dean said after giving his brother a dirty look and then turning to the redhead. "How you finding it five years in the future?"

"I don't know; this is my first time out in the new world I suppose. Mobile phones are different and from what I've heard, the music's different too."

"Not really liking back to the future 2 then, huh?"

"You could say that; I mean maybe it's just America that's different. I only knew America by the movies anyway."

"Ah, movies. That's a thing I could talk about for hours."

"So, what ones did you like?" Sam asked her curiously.

"You know, the classics. _The Parent Trap_ is one of my favourites, along with _Dirty Dancing_ , of course as it is the best, and others like _Ten Things I Hate About You_. I mean, I love Heath Ledger, I think all the girls in my year did when that film came out."

"Oh," Dean said before taking a painful breath in.

"What? You don't like him?" she asked curiously.

"No, it's just that…he died."

"No, what?" she asked in shock.

"Last year." The younger brother replied.

"You're right, I do hate it in the future." She said to the older hunter miserably.

"Cheer up, it's not all bad. We have Obama and Youtube now." Dean smiled broadly.

"Youtube?"

"Point is," Sam continued, "You may still need to adjust a little but things will get better."

"Yeah I suppose. I just wish I had a way of knowing that everything was alright back home."

"Sorry, we wish you could too but it really wouldn't be a good idea. When you go back, knowing what's down the road could cause some complications if you researched their lives or even yourself, it could cause all types of problems in the laws of time."

"Okay, you've been watching too much science fiction."

The waitress came back with three plates a couple of minutes later.

Emma had to admit that the burger did look delicious, especially with its meaty aroma and the cheese leaking out the side, on to the golden fries. But she wasn't going to admit defeat to Dean; she still had some British pride left.

"Oh, here's a napkin for you honey." The waitress smiled widely at Dean.

"Well thanks sweetheart." He smirked, she walked away, looking back at him once, and leaving the scene. "Let me guess…" Dean said, turning the napkin over. "Awesome!" He laughed to himself after looking at the white piece of paper.

"Her phone number, I guess?" Emma asked, it was a normal thing that happened in the movies.

"Yep," Dean said excitedly. "Ow-" he hissed at pain after he felt a foot kick his shin, before looking at Sam who gave a discreet look at Emma and shaking his head. "But…she's not my type anyway." He said before scrunching the napkin up. "I'm not that type of guy, of course."

"So, you guys better start carrying on with your debate of which one is better." Sam said dimly, pointing to the burger.

"Alright Emma start to be amazed." Dean beamed before biting into his burger, his eyes closed with delight and he sighed dreamily.

Emma picked up her burger and bit into it before having the same experience as Dean, as soon as she realised she was falling into a trap she opened her eyes and tried to look less indulged by the cuisine's charm just as Dean looked at her for an opinion.

"So?" the man asked with a full mouth.

"I mean it's good but not as good." She fibbed with a shrug. Dean groaned in disappointment before returning to his heavenly meal. Emma looked at Sam who gave her the I-know-you're-lying look; she laughed slightly before going back to the repast.

X

They left ten minutes later, it was hard but Emma managed to finish her dinner pretending to look unimpressed, making Dean seem now motivated to try the burger in the GBK. They were in car on the way home, she felt stuffed after that meal; the American portions were massive compared to the ones at home.

Suddenly the EMF started beeping rapidly from Sam's pocket. It was growing faster before dying down.

"Dean, the place yesterday-"

"I'm onto it."

"What is that noise?"

"It's a device we use to detect ghosts."

"Ghosts?" she said almost excitedly.

"I thought we killed it yesterday." Dean continued.

"Seems that didn't finish the job properly, they were twins remember?" Sam replied.

"I thought they both shared the-"

"Remember the story about the hair being hidden in the doll?"

"That doll could be anywhere-"

"We've got to try."

"Fine, we'll try." Dean said roughly before parking the car a couple metres in front of the abandoned factory.

"Can someone start explaining what's going on." Emma said the two brothers looked behind from the front seats to see her in the back of the Impala.

"You're staying in the car." Dean said seriously.

"You could use some help."

"Emma it's dangerous."

"I know but-"

"No 'buts', you're staying, period."

The two brothers got out of the car, she could see them opening the boot and getting out two silver pistols before putting them under their jackets. Dean got out something else before walking over to the car, opening the passenger door and quickly handcuffing Emma's right hand to the seatbelt.

"Hey!" she said angrily.

"Sorry, it's just a precaution for your safety." Dean said. "We promise to be straight back."

"Dean", Sam said. "Maybe we shouldn't, I mean we don't-"

"We'll be quick Sammy. We always are." He said before slamming the door. The two brothers left to go hunt ghosts, abandoning Emma in the car.


	8. Creaking Floorboards

The two brothers patrolled the still-haunted abandoned building. It was dark inside, with only thin slivers of gold light escaping in through the wooden planks that replaced glass in the windows. The ghost's sister was still around and their only way of destroying it was to find this frickin doll, which could be anywhere, and burn the hair inside.

"If I was a girl, where would I hide my toy doll?" Dean asked himself. "Not a great question."

"Well, a doll would normally go in a bedroom."

"I think we've discovered it's not a frigging house." Dean said.

"Wait." Sam said stopping in his tracks. "These girls died when they were kids after being abandoned by their father, this was probably the only home they knew."

"So, they might have a bedroom, great, but where the hell is that?"

"I don't know but I think the obvious first place to start would be upstairs."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

They made their way up the old, creaky stairs, and, when they reached the top, they faced more doors on either side of the corridor. There were a series of corridors, the lights were off but their torches made a bright glow on the gloomy looking scene. The place was covered in thick dust and cobwebs. There was a dead silence lingering in the building, even though the Winchesters knew that there was a presence there, it still gave them an eerie feeling. There were several rooms on the first corridor.

"Okay, so we're looking for a bed in one of the rooms, or something else that may suggest one of the girls spent a lot of time there." Sam explained.

"No shit Sherlock."

"Just start searching." Sam said in a tired voice before feeling a cold shiver run down his spine by the effect of the spirit haunting the house.

Dean kicked the doors open one by one, each one making a bang that echoed down the hall and throughout the building. They looked in each room, gun positioned in their hand to shoot anything that came their way. All of the rooms were deserted with just empty furniture and thick dust coating the floor and floating in the air. They worked their way down the corridor, kicking each door down one by one and discovering each time and there was no bed or any indication that this room was loved any more than the other rooms.

They reached one that was about three away from the end, it was locked. Sam and Dean shared a look. They felt a cold blast of air, like someone blowing down their necks, and their torches flickered vividly. Dean stood back before kicking the door open with all his force, it burst open. Dean shone his torch in all of the corners of the room while Sam had his gun ready to shoot at anything that moved. Nothing was there.

The room was covered in dust like the others but it had two moth-eaten mattresses lying on the middle of the room. There was nothing else but a mattress was a mattress and therefore a bed was a bed.

"Well, this does look like a bedroom." Dean said.

"Can you see a doll?" Sam asked.

"No, shit." Dean cursed in annoyance.

"It must be in here. Keep watch!"

"Aye-aye captain!" Dean mocked. Sam searched the room with his torch; it was empty apart from the two sleeping places. The room was starting to get colder and it was getting harder to concentrate because his torch was creating a rave by flickering constantly. He circled the room several times, looking under the beds, nothing. He was starting to get frustrated at the lack of discovery but the signs of the ghost getting closer and closer would mean that he was getting closer and closer to the doll. After the seventh time going around the room, he heard a floorboard creak unusually loudly. He looked at Dean, who suddenly looked hopeful, before bending down and pressing the floorboard with the back of her hand, it was loose. He used both of his hands to remove the loose panel; it came away easily, like lifting a lid of a box. The doll was inside; it was freaky looking, with big, green painted on eyes that looked like it was looking into a person's soul. It was the size of his hand and was fairly heavy, due to the fact it was made of china. He didn't understand how something so obscure could be a toy. It had blonde hair, which was falling out and tangled.

"I think this is real hair." Sam said, quickly getting out his lighter, he was about to set it on fire and kill the ghost for good but then he was suddenly pushed into the back wall with a strong force. Dean joined him and his body too hit a wall. With the strength pushing him down, Sam slowly managed to lift his gun in his right hand to aim at the ghost and he pulled the trigger, making the bullet hit her in the forehead, she disappeared into thin air. Him and Dean fell to the floor, Sam quickly grabbed the doll and the lighter but it was yanked out of his hands and thrown across the room. The ghost came back but this time she didn't move them against the wall. Instead she raised both of her hands to the sides of her head and scrunched them into fists before twisting them ninety-degrees. The two felt something grab their necks and it started to choke them, making them gasp for air. Sam tried to reach for the gun but he couldn't reach. He looked up and the one causing him pain, she was about seven, she had blonde ringlets that looked duller and unhealthier than a seven-year old's should be, that matched the one on the doll. She was white as paper, like all ghosts, and her eyes were bright green, but they were scrunched in concentration along with the rest of her face by the power she was putting into killing the two of them. Sam felt the air leaving him; he wouldn't last much longer; would he die? Would he live? They always seemed to live one way or another but this time…this time he wasn't sure.


	9. What's a Girl to Do?

**A/N: Lil reminder of what happened last week, Sam and Dean went to hunt a ghost in an abandoning building (classic), leaving Emma handcuffed in the car. But now the ghost has them both trapped and struggling for air…**

 **Please follow or favourite if you have liked what you've read so far!**

 **Reviews are always welcome!**

Emma had been waiting in the car for what seemed like ages but it had been ten minutes less than ten minutes; how could the period of waiting expand the limits of time like that? The handcuff was starting to rub against her wrist, it was tight and irritating. Everything was alright, wasn't it? They were fine, weren't they? 'Of course', she told herself, they were hunters; they did this for a living. They'd promised to look after her and they weren't going to let a harmless ghost break that.

Minutes passed by and she became more uncertain each second. Her fingers traced over the white-gold band on her bracelet again and again, which was resting on her uncuffed wrist, without even noticing it. They probably always took this long, she had never been on a hunting trip before; they'd be back soon.

They didn't come back soon, every minute felt like an hour, she felt herself getting more anxious, they would come back, wouldn't they? She started to get worried, what if they didn't? What if the ghost killed them? What would happen?

She combed her hair through with her fingers before feeling a hair grip. She grinned before sliding it out and putting it to the lock of the handcuffs, it took a few moments but she felt the lock click and the cuff around her wrist loosen, it really did work outside the movies, she beamed, finally freedom.

Getting out the car, she was relieved to know what building they were in. Looking in the boot, she remembered Sam telling her that ghosts were allergic to salt and iron, there was a metal bar in the trunk. She prayed that it was iron. She also grabbed a torch, abandoned buildings were normally unlit. She had also learnt that from the movies.

As she walked over to the building, thoughts kept on running through her head. _This isn't a good idea, Emma, you don't know anything about hunting. If it comes, this iron thing will protect me, right? You don't know if it's iron._ She said to herself in her head. _What if they're in danger? How would they be in danger? I don't know. Look, just go back to the car and wait. No. Why? I'm not waiting in there; I have to know what's going on. They're going to get pissed. What if they don't, if I explain, they'll understand. Did mum and dad understand? Shut up. No, you can't do this. What if they don't come back? What if, what if it's like Georgie?_ She felt herself getting more anxious, it wouldn't be like her, it couldn't be, they'd be alright; they'd be alive.

The building was dark and cold. The torch was the only light in the room after the door close with loud echo going with it. "Sam, Dean?" she asked quietly but the acoustics of the abandoned building made it sound twice as loud. There was no answer. Maybe they couldn't hear her; maybe she hadn't been loud enough. The light bounced off the walls and she jumped at a shadow. Knowing that something evil was in this room, she saw everything being out to get her. She felt a shiver up her spine as she walked through the abandoned building, this was just a flat space, one giant room with boarded up windows. The footsteps she made echoed, which occasionally made her believe someone was following her. The further she walked, the colder she got. She didn't know if she was nervous or if something else was making her shiver. There was no noise apart from her footsteps and breathing. Were Sam and Dean still in here? Where they still alive? She shook her head from realising how stupid she was being, of course they were.

A few minutes later she reached a staircase, her torched flickered, was it running out of battery? She grabbed the metal bar tighter, as it was her only protection. The stairs creaked in pain, after a few steps of slowly walking up them, she felt herself running up them like she did when she was a child, the fear of a monster chasing you out of the dark was now coming to life.

She got to the top. This set up was different to the ground floor; there were a large number of rooms and corridors. She walked down one corridor before hearing the sound of a body hitting the wall. Was it the brothers? She started walking quickly to the source of the noise. Seconds later she heard grunts of pain like they were being inflicted with agony, she started running to the noise, she was starting to get worried, was the ghost attacking them?

Reaching the door, she saw in horror; the ghost with her back to her and then her eyes moved to Sam and Dean being strangled on the floor; she dropped her torch in shock and put both of her hands tightly around the metal pole. It was a ghost, a real ghost. She thought she had gotten over the astonishment of these things actually existing but seeing one in real life brought on a wave of pure terror.

She wacked the pole at the ghost, while begging it to be iron, and prepared herself for it hitting a body, but it didn't. It went straight through like hitting a hologram and the ghost had disappeared with a gust of air. She looked at Sam and Dean who had stopped being strangled. She sighed in relief to know they were okay, and they were alive.

Suddenly she felt herself being pushed back against the wall. The ghost, who was a little girl, came right up to her face. Emma felt fear spread over her. The girl was extremely pale and she had a dim glow to her, assisted with a bitter coldness. The little girl looked her in the eyes with her lifeless ones, making the redhead feel her own heartbeat quicken. She was the target of something that was _dead_ , stuff like this only happened in her worst nightmares.

This girl was going to kill her; she'd been stupid, again. How could she even possibly think that she could take on a ghost? The little girl reached her hand forward to Emma's neck then coiled her fingers around her throat like a snake strangling its victim. She started to choke, the girl had a strong grip on her neck; her hand was as freezing as an ice cube in the middle of the North Pole. She realised that the ghost was smiling like she was enjoying it. Emma struggled against her grip, she felt her feet slowly being lifted off the floor by the devil child.

The girl's grip loosened a few mere moments later, she then completely let go of Emma, causing her to fall to the floor before gasping for air and putting her hand around her neck and feeling the absence of the invisible hand. She looked up when she heard a screaming. It was horrible, it sounded like nails on the back of a blackboard. Emma looked at disbelief as she saw the girl burst into flames, she was still screaming in agony. The redhead could feel the pain coming from the screech. She almost felt sorry for her, she was just a little girl. It was a horrific scene, she would have never, _never_ had expected that to happen.

The girl vanished after a burst of sparks. Sam was standing behind the girl with the doll on fire, he threw it on the floor and stomped it out with his foot. He saw Emma on the floor; hand around her neck, looking at the place the ghost was just burning in utter shock, looking like she wanted to wake up from a horrific dream.

He quickly went over and pulled her up with his right hand. She just stood there in silence, swaying slightly, eyes still on the place where the big send-off happened. She looked like she had just seen…well… a ghost.

"Hey," Sam said, going hold her shoulders, distracting her from looking at the now empty space. "Don't worry, it's gone for good."

"I-I just saw a ghost." She said, sounding like she didn't even believe herself.

"Yeah, and you're grounded for that!" Dean said angrily, joining the chat. "What happened to staying in the car?"

"I couldn't."

"Why?"

"I just couldn't. I'm sorry."

"It's fine-" the young brother replied in a kind voice.

"No, it's not fine Sammy, you could have died."

"And so could've we,"

"That's not the point."

"Look, she saved our lives okay."

"So, can I come with you guys on hunts now?" she cut into the argument.

They both turned to her.

"What? Of course not!" Dean said in outrage.

"Why?" she asked in disappointment.

"Because it's dangerous!"

"I've established that."

"Emma, a few seconds you were creeped out by a ghost, why would you want to go finding more?" the younger brother asked in confusion.

"Because I've been transported into a new world, and I want to be useful in this one. I'm scared but I promise I won't be next time."

"You can't get rid of a fear overnight. This will change your life forever." Sam explained delicately.

"My life has already been changed forever. Please. I'm sick of doing nothing and just staying inside, being here is the first time I've felt alive in months, years even. If anything, I should be learning how to protect myself if I have a demon chasing me." She debated.

"We're there to protect you."

"Yeah but you can't be there twenty-four seven. Can I just be useful in this life? I'm tired of standing back and letting people do the work for me."

"Look, I know how it feels to want to be able to help someone." Sam said. "But sometimes it's alright to not be a part of something if it will keep you safe."

"I'm not safe though, how can protect myself from this demon if I'm a sitting duck? What else am I supposed to do when I'm here? At least if I'm hunting I'll have a purpose not just being some useless person you have to look after."

"But you're no way near experienced."

"I know, but it's never too start learning. I promise, I'll try and be the best hunter ever."

Sam sighed. "Dean, maybe it won't be the worst idea."

"Of course, it will, once you're in this life, you can never leave."

"She's already kinda in this life; at least we could give her some help to survive."

"But…" the older brother started but was unable to find words to follow and form a sentence.

"Please?" she begged, looking at him with large green eyes.

"Fine, fine." Dean gave up. "But you're still grounded."

"Thank you!" Emma said excitedly.


	10. Shoot!

**Hey guys,**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter! I can promise that this story will definitely liven up soon (you ain't seen nothing yet ;))**

 **Extra note: I stupidly realised that Bobby doesn't actually live in Kansas like omd who am I?! I don't know why I assumed he lived in Kansas rather than South Dakota, maybe it's because John and Mary lived in Kansas? Anyway, I'm not going to change the detail because it will just complicate things a little for future chapters that will cause a tangle and who likes tangles? I apologise for keeping it but I hope it doesn't upset anyone.**

 **Apart from that, please follow or favourite if you like and reviews are always welcome!**

X

"Alright, so the trick I find with hunting is to always aim a little off to what I'm aiming for." Bobby said, bringing out a hunting rifle with a smooth, brown, varnished handle before handing it to Emma, who looked down at it in nervous excitement. Her, Bobby, Sam and Dean were in the small patch of green behind the salvage yard. It was the day after the hunting trip and they had arranged their first lesson.

"I always aim it a little to the right off the target." Dean added he was putting old beer cans on a wooden ledge, about ten metres away from the three, that was to be the aim of her first official hunting lesson.

"How does that even make sense?" Emma asked, confused by the concept that to aim you have to aim away from the aim.

"I don't know physics?" Dean said as he walked back to the crowd, looking at Bobby for an answer whilst he did.

"Alright, Sam, you do the example." Bobby said, ignoring Dean's look for help.

"Right." Sam said, he had his own rifle and Bobby handed Emma her one before going over to stand to the side with Dean. He handed Emma her gun and helped position her to the most comfortable and appropriate way to stand while shooting. "How does it feel?" he asked after he finished locating the redhead.

"Good…well weird."

"Yeah, I felt that way when I started. It will take a while getting used to naturally position it. Okay now relax and stand like you'd normally would." Sam said taking the rifle off her; he quickly checked the safety mode was on for sure before placing it on the grass. "I would stand a little back. I'm going to do a demonstration now but I warn you, it's going to be a little loud."

Emma did as he instructed, she watched him get into position in the blink of an eye and felt slightly amazed by it, remembering how it had taken her at least minute to stand the right way, let alone managing how to handle the weapon. It took him just as long to aim the rifle at one of the sixteen beer cans before pushing the trigger firmly with his index finger. She felt herself jump fiercely as soon as she heard the bang, it was definitely louder than she expected, filling the yard with a fuming, low thunderous noise. The bullet charged at the beer cans before colliding into the third one on the right, making a painful ping. She watched it fly into the distance until it hit a hedge that was now its grave. It looked easy but he'd had over ten years of experience, so what did she know about easy?

He made sure the gun was on safety mode before gesturing her to come over and join him. She did, slowly and nervously knowing it was now her turn to try and copy that example of sheer perfection.

"Alright, so position yourself again." He instruction.

Emma swore in her head, she'd completely forgotten. She tried to go into what she thought it was but after hearing Sam's chuckle, she knew she was off entirely.

"I'm sorry." He apologized but he was still grinning. "It will take practise." He said before repositioning her. He put his strong arm on hers and moved them so they were more stable and her fingers were more flexed on the gun handle. He then put his left hand on her back and his right on her left shoulder and pushed it back; she naturally put her left leg backwards and bent forward on the right. He looked in her eyes before beaming. "See you're getting it." She felt herself grinning too.

"That's an improvement." She smiled back at him.

"You bet it is! Now you're in the right position, the gun is going to give off a strong force once you've pressed the trigger so make sure you hold the gun firmly with stable arms. The noise is going to be louder than the one then you heard when I shot it, think ten times louder. I'm taking the safety mode off so be careful not to shoot me. Try shooting three cans, and don't worry if you can't get it anywhere near hitting it on the first few goes, we've all been there." he reassured her sounding like a confident teacher, he took the safety mode off before quickly going to join Dean, who patted him on the back like a proud parent.

Emma felt her right hand move towards the trigger while her left kept stable on the smooth handle. She used both arms to aim for the can in the middle of the now fifteen. She was about ten metres away so it was hard to predict whether or not her aim would actually be anyway near the real one. She closed her left eye and positioned the rifle at where she thought best. She felt her fingers on her right-hand creep slowly towards the trigger, her index and middle finger rested on the front of the metal lever and the remaining fingers were folded into her palm and her thumb pressed on the back of the silver circle that that trigger was contained in. She knew that if she pressed the trigger hell would break loose. She slowly pressed down, preparing herself for the gun's command. BANG.

Her ears were ringing like church bells on a Sunday morning from the rifle's dark, menacing cry. As soon as the noise hit her, she felt herself being thrown back by its power, her left leg, which was bent backwards, stabilised her, making her able to deal with the force. The end of the handle hit the left side of her chest, just below the neck, making her wince and predict a soon-blossoming bruise. Once the gun had calmed, she re-positioned herself and looked up to see if she actually achieved anything. The can was still standing, sneering at her by still being alive and un-hit.

She looked at the three witnesses; Bobby gave her a well-you-tried look, Sam still looked hopeful, raising his eyebrows to gesture for her to start again and Dean gave her a cheesy thumbs up with a massive grin. She laughed to herself before going back to aim.

Once again, she heard the bang that threw her off her balance, the return of the ringing and the pain of the handle hitting her in the same place. She looked at the row of cans, apart from the one vacant can that Sam hit, they were all still there. She sighed before repositioning herself and Sam's words in her head 'we've all been there' which motivated her to carry on.

She moved the gun about an inch away from where she actually wanted to aim and felt her fingers press the trigger before the wave of pressure and ringing. This time over the ringing, she heard whooping and clapping from the three different voices. Emma quickly looked up and saw that the seventh can was no longer there. She grinned to herself. Sam and Dean rushed over.

"Thatta girl!" Dean beamed.

"Third go, that's awesome!" Sam congratulated.

"She's a natural!"

"Do you wanna try hitting another one?" Bobby asked joining the three.

Emma shook her head; the ringing was starting to give her a headache along with the ache on her arms and the pain on her chest. "I'll try again tomorrow." She smiled, she felt Sam take the gun out of her hands before handing it over to Bobby.

"Not long till you're a pro!" Dean said happily.

"I can't believe I hit one!" she said in disbelief.

"I can, I think we found your new talent." Sam joked.

Emma laughed, she was still in a surprised state that she actually used a gun and succeeded. One week ago, she wouldn't even think she would ever have to use a gun, never mind actually hitting the target. It dawned on her how much she had changed and how much probably would still continue to. But now thinking about it, if she was still in her old world, everything would be the same, nothing drastic, just school. She felt her adrenaline going here and she knew she would never feel in the old world and she strangely felt like she didn't want to say goodbye to the exciting, dangerous vibe she had here, she was so scared but it made her feel more alive.

X

The next two days were intense training; she had managed to get used into getting into position and had been able to hit around ten more bullseyes. Sam said she was a 'natural' but she still knew she wasn't experienced to hunt an actual ghost yet.

Sam and Dean were yet again on another hunt, this time was a job in Lincoln, three hours away. They had been gone for over a day now, leaving as fast as a man called for war, she didn't even get to say goodbye. She wondered how much longer they would be absent and, when they were back, how long it would take them to leave again. Was this the life she had to get used to, not knowing where they would be back for tea? She almost felt jealous of them, they got to go across states, they had the freedom to go where they wanted, not that she wasn't used to it but she wished that she couldn't be stuck in Kansas. To others, living in a new country for a while would be considered a holiday, but right now she wasn't being the typical tourist.

Bobby had made her lunch, a chicken sandwich; he was on the phone for most of the time eating her meal but came and joined her on her last bite.

"Sorry kiddo, Garth was driving me up the wall." He explained, shaking his head. "God knows how he even lived up to ten."

"So, do Sam and Dean call you when they're on a hunt?" she asked on the topic of phones.

"Yes, and way more than they need to, treating me like I'm their loving mamma." He grumbled.

"Have they called you today?" she asked hopefully.

"Dean, asking where a salt shaker would be, like I'd know." He shook his head again. Emma laughed.

"Does it bother you, them leaving so suddenly all of the time?"

"One of the perks of being a hunter. To be honest I think I'm lucky they stayed this long, think it mainly 'cos of you."

"Me?" she asked curiously, feeling a bit surprised.

"Yeah, normally it would be two days' tops! But now they have someone else to look after, I mean even to hunters, it's irrational to drag a kid around especially when there's a demon after them."

"So, we're going to stay here till I go home?"

"I suspect not; it may be illogical but things are gonna get dangerous. I'm sorry kid but I can only predict that you and the boys are going to be chasing or chased by this demon sooner or later." He said truthfully.

Emma nodded solemnly, she gulped, things were definitely going to get from bad to worse in a matter of time, this demon tried to kill her and she doubted it gave up after losing once.

"Can I go and practice shooting?" she asked, as she suddenly wanted to improve her self-defence skills.

"Yeah sure, I'm going to call Garth, make sure he's still alive." Emma smiled gently before leaving the table.

X

It was lightly raining when she got outside, water sprinkling from the stormy grey clouds above, creating a gloomy effect on the outside. There was bitter coldness from the February air, making the hair on her arms stand up on end. She got the rifle she always used, which she was scared that she was getting emotionally attached to, from the shed where Bobby kept all of his terrifying, yet essential, weapons.

She got into position, which she found fairly easy now, and took her first shoot, only flinching slightly at the noise and impact of force. She grinned as she had managed to hit on of the cans on her first try before repositioning herself to shoot again.

Around half an hour later, after she had managed to hit five, the probability of missing still being the more likely, she heard the sound of tyres on gravel. She turned to her left and saw the black, admiring Impala, with two passengers, of now she could recognize clearly, sitting inside. The driver, who was Dean, parked messily outside of Bobby's house. The two stepped out.

"Hey tiger." Dean addressed. "You practising again?" Emma nodded with a smile. "Not long till you're a professional!" he grinned. "Alright, I'm gonna get some grub." He walked into the house.

"Have you improved?" Sam asked hopefully, walking over and joining her.

"I think so." Emma said happily. "I've hit five so far."

"Five, Emma, that's great." he grinned.

"Is it?" she asked, knowing he was just saying it for encouragement.

"Yeah, it took me years to learn. You really are a natural!" Emma laughed slightly, she sat down on the grass and Sam sat down too.

"So how was the hunt?"

"Good, pretty easy this time, just the typical dead person taking revenge on the people who hurt them."

"'Typical?'" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"It is after ten years of it."

"So, you've spent ten years going around America hunting ghosts? How many motels have you stayed in?"

"I haven't actually thought about that." He chuckled. "I think…yeah a lot."

"You don't say." She said sarcastically before they both laughed. "Bobby said that I'm probably not going to stay here forever, I mean, you're not going to continue staying here either."

"Yeah, I can say I agree with him."

"So what's going to happen?" she asked worryingly.

"I guess we're going to be finding this demon, which means finding where he last was, travelling there, finding connections to find him."

"Sounds like a real detective's job."

"Most times it is." He said seriously. "But hey, so you said you improved, let's see." He grinned, changing the subject.

"Alright, but don't judge me if I'm bad, I get stage fright." She joked.

They both stood up, Sam cleared out of the way, Emma positioned herself before aiming for the third can on the left and shooting.

"Wow that was definitely an improvement!" Sam grinned after seeing the can shoot of at the sudden force of a bullet.

"Thanks." Emma beamed.

"If you're going to someday be hunting this demon, maybe a rifle wouldn't be the best weapon." He said before taking a silver pistol out of his jacket.

"You're going to teach me how to use one of those?" she asked in excitement.

"Well you're gonna have to sooner or later." He said, handing her the gun slowly.

Emma grinned but couldn't help notice the scary amount of power that was radiating off the gun, this could and had killed. It wasn't to hunt animals; it was to kill humans and even things of the dead. It was silver and well-looked after and felt cold by the metal and there was no horizontal handle to hold it with, it was just a vertical one. It felt dangerous to be holding it but as she thought of the demon, she couldn't wait to get started on learning how to use this thing. She guessed she really had changed even if it was just by the tiniest bit.


	11. A Brother's Love

**Hey guys,**

 **Short chapter today (sorrrrrry) but it's just a lil heart-warming character development chapter between Dean and Emma. I hope you like it and please follow or favourite if you did and reviews are always welcome!**

Another week had passed and, with the training and feeling less homesick, it felt like it had gone much quicker. She was still living at Bobby's with Sam and Dean, although they were only there half the time. She wondered how much longer she would be there, a month- less, more? She didn't even bother to guess; her life was definitely unpredictable right now. But even though having thought that, it was a pretty simple lifestyle, apart from the guns and the supernatural, she knew what her routine was at least.

She had just finished a session at the shooting range with Dean, who had taken her there three times already. She studied the image of a man, that was the target on a massive piece of paper. She had got five in the head, seven in the heart and the other marks from the bullets scattered around the rest of the body.

"Not too shabby." Dean grinned, studying the target.

"Thanks." She beamed back.

They left the building and walked back to the car, it was coming up to around eleven. The streets were empty and dark, only the little light from the street lamps guiding the way.

"So, have you heard from Castiel?" Emma asked curiously, the angel's name still feeling foreign on her lips.

"Cas? No." Dean said gruffly. "He always likes to keep us waiting till the very last second and then pop his little angel ass over here and make up an excuse about serving heaven or some shit. Knowing him, he'll show up right before the trouble."

"Great." Emma said sarcastically.

"Yep, sorry but that's Cas for you."

"So, how did you even get around to meeting an angel? I mean, you can't have just bumped into him."

"Me and Cas, well let's just say we're 'hella' good friends." He said in mock cheerfulness.

"Did he save you like he saved me?"

"The little bastard saved me alright." He said blankly, he looked at Emma, who had a confused expression upon her face. "Oh, screw it, you're gonna find out sometime."

They reached the car and they both got in the front, Dean started driving, the headlights lighting up the long, winding, pitch black road.

"Sammy got hurt a couple years back, really hurt. He died."

"H-He died?" Emma asked in astonished confusion, knowing that Sam was very much alive. How could he have died and then come back to life?

"Yeah and I couldn't stand my baby brother not being on this earth anymore so I made a deal with a crossroad's demon."

"A crossroad's demon," Emma said, frowning, she recognized that term, she searched her minds until she remembered reading about it in a book somewhere. "You sold your soul?" she asked in shock. "You're going to hell?"

"I've been." He said darkly.

"What?" she asked in shock, feeling slightly terrified. She'd been brought up as a Roman Catholic, meaning she'd been constantly reminded not to sin otherwise she'd go to a place of eternal misery and suffering.

"I was there for four months before Cas got me out of there."

"Oh my God, you've been to hell?" she asked, it not being able to be processed through her mind properly.

"Yeah, I suppose it was a nice vacation spot."

"Dean," She said sadly, she knew the man was hiding his true feelings, how could someone possibly go to hell and still be happy afterwards? "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I'm not going into a whole sissy emotional talk." Dean said firmly.

"I'm sorry, I know it must be hard to talk about." She apologized quickly.

"It's fine seriously. It's just the pain I felt there, it can never be put into words. You start to realize that you'll never have hope again because how can there be hope in hell? There are moments you realize that you'll be here forever and ever and the misery will never go away. You experience torture you could not have ever imagined and you can never get used to it. But at the end of each day I would just say to myself 'at least Sammy's alright, at least he's alive' and then for at least a second, I would find the tiny amount of happiness still inside of me and everything would be okay."

Emma looked down sadly, feeling tears creep to her eyes, she knew that Dean had been broken by hell, even the strongest of people had a weakness, and his was Sam. The pure love he had for his brother was the one she had always dreamt of receiving from her parents. The place Dean had described was more real than any pep talks she had been given from naïve nuns, what he had experienced was true and it scared her.


	12. Weekend NOT At Bobby's

**Hey guys,**

 **Here's the next chapter and it's quite a long one (yay). Fun fact, Osric Chau actually replied to a message I sent him! It was amazing and we actually had a conversation (I'm still dying tbh). He was so nice and I love him so much!**

 **Anyhoo, please follow and favourite if you like the story so far and want to read more and**

 **Reviews are always welcome!**

Coming down for breakfast the next morning, Emma saw that Sam and Dean were reading a newspaper each, both scanning the literature in deep concentration. She tiredly walked over to the table where the two were sat, neither one acknowledging her arrival, making her perform an over-reacted- yawn to try and attract their attention but- again- neither one noticed. She sighed before saying "good morning," loudly.

"Morning." Sam finally said, looking up for a microsecond and smiling at her before returning to scan the newspaper as if he were trying to find secrets hidden in the text.

"Morning Em." Dean replied not looking up.

"So, what are you both doing?" Emma frowned, trying to read the newspaper over the younger Winchester's shoulder.

"We're finding a job." Sam said several seconds later. Emma couldn't help but roll her eyes, if there was a job, then they would be absent for a few days.

"I've got one!" Dean said excitedly a few seconds later. "Two die in abandoned house." He read aloud. He quickly read the story. "Alright, so according to this, a group of teenagers threw a party in a house no one lives in anymore and suddenly something happens only two live to tell the tale."

"That's awful!" Emma replied in shock, not wanting to know how many people were there to naturally figure out the number of dead bodies.

"Something sound haunting to you?" he asked Sam, who shrugged.

"Might as well have a shot at it, where's the crime scene?" his brother replied.

"Manhattan."

"That's like a two-day drive…we'll be gone at least five days." Sam calculated.

"Can we leave her that long?" Dean talked of Emma as if she weren't in the room.

"The demon can come at any time-"

"But Bobby's here."

"I know but maybe just to be sure…"

The two brothers turned to Emma, who looked at them with a hopeful expression.

"I guess she's going to have to start hunting sometime." Dean shrugged. "Besides this is an easy task, it'll be like a practical."

"So, am I going on my first hunt?" Emma asked nervously.

"Em, how would you like to come on a little road trip?" Dean asked.

"I'd love to." She grinned, she was finally going on a hunt, and finally she would be doing something useful.

"We'll leave in an hour or so, so pack your bags." Dean said.

"Okay, thank you guys, so much." Emma grinned before getting up and quickly going up to her room to prepare for her first official hunt.

X

An hour later they left the house, Bobby had lent Emma an old carrier bag and she'd packed a week's worth of clothes, hoping it would be enough. Being her first hunt, she didn't know what to expect, it was exciting and terrifying at the same time. But it would be a twenty-one-hour drive before anything would happen. Two days' worth of travelling at most.

She sat in the back seat of the Impala and watched them pack the trunk with guns and bullets in the side mirror before the two got in the front. Suddenly the engine started rumbling and the house that she had taken shelter in for what seemed like so long slowly started moving away from her. She felt slightly sad; it had been her home for two weeks and the only place she knew in this world. Bobby had been right, they would leave this place eventually and, for the time she was there, she wanted to but watching everything she knew disappear from her eyesight made her heart drop. Even if it was for a couple of days, she knew she'd miss this place. But it her first hunt, a new stage of her new life and it meant that they were getting closer to finding this demon and therefore closer to getting home.

"Alright there?" Dean asked after seeing Emma looking out the window sadly.

"Yeah," she said gently after Dean's voice pulled her away from her thoughts. "I'm just- I've only-Bobby's has been the only home-"

"That you've known here so far?" Sam completed for her, turning around in his seat to face her.

"Pretty much," she said, the corners of her mouth creeping up, feeling thankful for Sam being able to finish her sentence. "It's foolish of me to feel like this, I know but it's just-"

"Don't worry, it's perfectly fine to feel like this. It'll only be for a few days, you'll be back before you know." He said softly.

"I suppose, I just-it's really happening, the whole supernatural thing."

"Welcome to our world." Dean said grimly from the front.

X

They stopped off in a motel twelve-and-half hours later, with several stops on the way. The drive was tiring, Emma felt sorry for them, knowing the boys spent probably more than half the year in this car. They were obviously used to these long trips, for the whole time in the Impala they hardly spoke and just focused on the road while Emma felt tired and uncomfortable being confined to one position for so long. Dean had been playing his cassettes for the whole trip. She recognized some of the classics like: _Rolling Stones_ , _AC/DC_ and _Motorhead_. She found herself liking the majority of the songs, even though she knew her parents would detest this music. Dean, however, seemed to love it, singing at top of his lungs and knowing all the words to every single song. Emma had to admit he wasn't a bad singer, sure it may be rough and faulty at some points but his passion for classic rock made up for it. Two hours into the trip, she managed to fall asleep for three before being woken up by Dean, who had started shouting and beeping at the car in front of him, which was travelling two miles per hour. The remaining four hours were spent staring out windows at the long winding roads leading to the city that never slept.

They stopped off halfway, after it had gone past ten and the extremely long day in the car was starting to wear their eyes down. They parked outside a motel in Indiana. It was pitch black, the only lights coming from the ones inside the building, and it was in the middle of nowhere.

"So, are we going to get two rooms?" Dean asked as they all exited the Impala.

"We'll just get a 3-bed room." Sam replied simply. "We don't have enough money."

"Yeah but…what about changing clothes?"

"There's a bathroom with it," Sam answered.

"I've never shared with a girl before."

"Well there's a first time for everything." Emma stated as they entered the reception.

"We'll have one room please." Sam said to the woman running the desk.

"Sure… are you all together?" she asked, looking at the three of them one by one, sounding quite concerned.

"No, God no!" Dean said, shaking his head quickly.

"Three double beds in one room please." Sam rephrased his sentence.

"Okay." The woman smiled but still looking quite confused at the request but still managing to keep a straight face and carry out the request.

X

Emma entered the motel room; they were in room seven with three double beds. She knew instantly that her parents would rather die than stay in this room, with the damp smell, cheap furniture and ugly colour coordination of yellow walls, brown carpet and orange duvets. She almost wished her parents could see their little Viola now, sharing a room in a cheap motel with two older male strangers. It would be funny to see their reactions of how their 'properly raised' daughter had come to this, mother would surely faint.

Half an hour later Dean went out and came back with a couple of pies for him and Emma and a salad for Sam.

"So how did you find the car journey?" Dean asked through a mouthful of pie.

"Extremely boring." She admitted.

"Well at least we're over half way." Sam answered.

"Are we going to see Manhattan tomorrow?" she asked hopefully, knowing that they the job was in New York.

"You bet ya." Dean said happily.

"Well at least there's something to look forward to." She grinned.

She went to bed shortly after finishing her dinner. Even though she'd done virtually nothing all day, the car ride had taken away all her energy. The mattress was lumpy and the pillows hard but she made do, with being a new hunter, she wasn't expecting a five-star service from a motel in the middle of nowhere. Sam and Dean didn't retire to bed however, they cracked open a can of beer each and both studied Sam's laptop with squinted eyes. They talked but only in hushed voices, knowing that there was a new addition to their dynamic duo trying to get a good night's rest.

X

They left the motel at midday the following day before going back in the Impala for a whole other chunk of travelling.

It was astonishing when they arrived in Manhattan; the Empire State took her breath away. She had been to America when she was three but hadn't remembered it. Now she felt more like a tourist, rather than a stuck passenger that was forced into America by a demon, by looking at the beautiful scene outside of her car window.

They finally reached their destination at Queens twelve hours later; Emma was relieved when they arrived at their new motel. They got to their new room with three double beds. This one was pleasanter by a long shot, with there being more space and it seeming more modern with a widescreen TV and new windows. The walls were now a light blue and furnished with a white carpet, the other furniture was a table and four chairs, which Sam and Dean were first attracted to. Sam took his laptop out of his bag and set it up on the table whilst Dean pulled out two beers from his bag, before throwing the backpack on to the bed, and handing one to Sam and sitting on the opposite side of the table.

Emma crawled into bed, feeling as tired as she did yesterday from the same result of being bored. But she knew that the next day would definitely not be monotonous with her first hunt starting tomorrow. They'd stopped off for pizza a couple hours ago so she didn't need anything else after getting ready for bed in the bathroom. She slowly fell asleep in the bed that was more comfortable than the last, while Sam and Dean continued drinking and researching the context of the job. She went to bed thinking about what the hunt would be like, she had seen a ghost once in her life but she didn't know if she was eager or frightened to see one again. It wasn't going to be like Casper the friendly ghost, it had killed teenagers, _children_. This spirit had most probably had a reason to murder and therefore was likely to have had a traumatic life in the first place. What if this ghost's killing was for a viable reason? Would it deserve to die? With the silent debate of ethics running through her mind, she slowly fell unconscious and plunged into a world of dreams.

X

"Rise and shine princess." Dean said jokily the next morning after nudging her awake. She opened her eyes and the blurred vision of the motel room slowly became sharper.

"W-What time is it?" she yawned, sitting up. Dean was sat on the end of her bed and Sam was at the table studying his laptop.

"Eleven." He announced after looking at his watch.

"What's the plan?"

"Well Sammy and I are gonna go do some FBI investigating with the two lucky bastards who survived and you will stay here."

"Stay here?" she asked in disappointment.

"Yeah, you don't have a fake police ID yet, just stay in the motel, watch a couple films- no porn- and we'll be back in two hours at least."

"When you leaving?"

"After breakfast." He said before passing her a paper containing one croissant. The crumbs and large amount of space still in the packaging showed that there were originally three, which she suspected where eaten by the brothers.

"It was French and posh but it was friggin' delicious." Dean said dreamily. "Sounded like your typical morning breakfast." Emma laughed; it was true that her mother often went out to the local bakery to buy pastries.

After the breakfast, they both went into the bathroom one at a time to get changed. They both came out wearing black suits and ties.

"Well that certainly makes you look different." She laughed at the pair, who looked like someone her father would appreciate, as they both looked very formal and wealthy.

"We'll see you soon." Sam smiled.

"Call us if anything's wrong." Dean said, leaving his cell number by the motel phone before the two left, leaving Emma alone in the motel.

The next hour was uneventful, she got changed into a pair of blue shorts and a white shirt and walked round the perimeters of the motel a couple times, and she put a movie called _Mom at Sixteen_ but wasn't paying attention, she was half excited for going on her first official hunt and half terrified of seeing a ghost again. At least she was more prepared; she knew how to aim and use a gun as well as how to temporarily get rid of them.

She went over to the table that Sam was looking at earlier, there were a series of newspaper cuttings with news of the incident and a notepad, where he had made notes. She read a couple of his markings, one was about the past of the house, which was owned by a married couple in their fifties, who moved out in the early nineteen nighties. Another was about the two survivors, Lee Johnson and Mike Francis. She read through the newspaper cuttings and wondered how they would possibly find out who was haunting the place seeing as from this evidence. She had no idea who could've have done it.

X

"So, you were the organisers of this party then?" Sam asked the two survivors. They were in the school two teenage boys went to, having a conversation with them in the princeiple's office.

"Yes." A boy with dirty blonde hair and a square face said grimly.

"And you think that organising a party in an abandon building was a good idea, do ya?" Dean said cynically.

"Dude, it always happens in the movies, you can't blame us." A more tanned one with brown curly hair said with a sly look.

"Yeah well maybe next time you throw a cliché 'badass' kid party, you'll think more of the consequences."

"What, do you honestly think we could guess what would happen?"

"Mike-" his friend sitting beside him started,

"No, Lee, did you think that we'd guess that a bunch of knives would start flying at everyone and beer bottles and-"

"Wait, what do you mean?" Sam asked seriously.

"Someone… _something_ started attacking us."

"Mike-"

"Shut the fuck up Lee- something evil was in that room."

"And you told the police this?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but they just said we were drunk, high-whatever-but how else would everyone at that party have died?"

"It was horrible." Lee shivered. "Blood, everywhere."

"And if Lee and I didn't break that window and escape, we wouldn't have been able to warn everyone that there are sick things are out there!"

"Yeah, well keep that little statement to yourself, don't want to ruin anyone else's' lives." Dean said darkly.

"You don't believe us? WHY DOESN'T ANYONE FUCKING BELIEVE US!" Mike shouted.

"Calm down Mr Francis." Sam said. "When at the party, where there any lights flickering, cold spots?"

"What do you mean?" Lee frowned.

"Just routine precautions," Sam said quickly.

"Wait, I remember now!" Mike said loudly.

"What?" Dean asked, leaning forward in his chair.

The tanned schoolboy put his hands on his face and massaged his temples before looking up with wide eyes. "At the party right before it happened, a boy came up to me, told me to get everyone out. He was scary lookin', all pale and skinny."

"Then what happened?" Sam asked curiously.

"I told him to fuck off. He vanished and then…then it happened, people getting stabbed, shoved against walls, the chandelier falling from the ceiling. When me and Lee where climbing out the window, I turned around and I saw him, he looked angry, like he knew what was going to happen." He said looking into the distance.

"We'll get back to you soon." Sam said before the two of them stood up.

"You believe us, don't you?" Mike said hopefully.

"We'll be in touch." Dean addressed the students before the two left.

X

They arrived back at the motel at three in the afternoon. Emma was lying on the bed, throwing the motel door key up above her head and then catching it with her right hand. Once they came through the door, she got distracted and the keys dropped beside her on the face. Dean came in and was carrying two pizza boxes. He laid them out on the table.

"Margarita's your favourite, right?" Sam asked, opening one of the boxes which revealed a deep-pan margarita pizza.

"You know me too well." She joked, walking over to the table, sitting on a chair and taking a slice. "So, what did you find out?" she asked before taking a bite.

"Well," Sam said sitting in the chair opposite her. "Ghost is definitely the prime suspect."

"Kid saw a ghost lookalike before he escaped." Dean continued.

"Freaky." She admitted.

"All we've got to do is find the poor bastard who made it all happen."

"We're going to interview the old owners of the house. They live in Manhattan, me and Sammy will head out in about half an hour."

"And then?" she asked curiously.

"If they tell us information that will give us an idea of who the ghost is, then we can start making preparations for the hunt."

"Okay, but be quick, it's boring here." She said tiredly.

X

"Mrs Hines." Sam announced after a middle age woman with greying hair opened the door.

"Who's asking?" She questioned with a stern voice.

"I'm agent Jones." Sam addressed, holding up his FBI badge. "And this is my partner agent Hammett." Dean also held up his badge.

"Why are you here?"

"We wanted to ask you about your previous home, after the recent incident that happened there."

"The murders? They have nothing to do with my husband and I, we don't have anything to with that house anymore."

"Just routine precautions," Sam smiled. "Can we come in?"

The woman sighed with annoyance. "Five minutes." She said before cleaning the doorway and letting Sam and Dean in the house.

She led the two into the living room, the man, they predicted to be Mr Hines, was slouched on the sofa in a vest, that was tight enough to show his beer belly, and a pair of orange boxers. He was reading the newspaper and had a half-drunk beer bottle in his left hand.

"Who are you?" he growled.

"They're agents, Bill." His wife said in a harsh whisper.

"We just wanted to ask you some questions about the massacre that happened a few days ago in your old premises." Sam said kindly.

"How do we have anything to do with this, do you think we killed them?" the old man said angrily.

"Bill!" Mrs Hines snapped.

"Just answer the following questions." Dean said seriously.

The two sat on a sagging, old sofa opposite the sofa where the Hines sat.

"When did you move out of the house?"

"March 3rd 1992." Mrs Hines stated.

"Did you have anyone in your old town that may have…um, disliked you in anyway?"

"No, we didn't talk to the neighbours much."

"And had you ever had any problems in your old home, maybe it was too cold, or the lighting wasn't particularly good?"

"What kind of questions are these?" Mr Hines asked furiously.

"They're just to help with the case." Sam said quickly.

"The house was perfectly fine, thank you-" Mrs Hines replied coldly.

"So why move?" Dean interjected.

"We wanted a fresh start."

"From what?"

"We don't have to tell you anything, how dare you come into my house and interrogate-"

"Bill!" his wife snapped.

"We need to know why." Dean said firmly.

"Our son died." Mrs Hines explained, eyes looking down at her knees with a glum expression.

"Your son?"

"Rupert, he was sixteen, he died in 1991. We couldn't stay there, so we moved."

"And how did he die, sorry, we just need to know."

"Bill and I went out, it was our twentieth anniversary, when we returned, Rup…he was…he was-"she couldn't finished her sentence, Bill stroked her back and had a sorrow expression engraved into his face.

"Was he murdered?"

"They had no evidence but I knew he was!" Bill growled.

"How are you so sure?"

"They said he hit his head on the edge of a table, cracked his skull, died instantly, it was an 'accident'. My boy was smart, straight A student, he wouldn't be stupid enough to do something like that. They found a couple of empty beer cans in the living room, by his body, but Rup would never drink. He was a good boy!" the man said angrily.

"Did you burry him?" Sam asked casually.

"No, he was cremated."

"Anything left of him at all?"

"No." Bill answered.

"Thank you for your time." Sam smiled. "Sorry for your loss."

X

"So, the son is the ghost?" Emma asked curiously.

"Well it all adds up, one of the kids saw a ghost, boy died in a house, house didn't seem haunted before." Dean explained.

"But why would he turn into a killer if he died by accident? It's not like it was revenge or anything?"

"When people die, they get a choice, they can stay on earth or go with the reaper." Sam explained. "If they died before it was their time, they're more likely to stay to watch over the ones they love."

"Yeah or turn into fricken Al Capone." Dean added.

"As time goes by, eventually they all start to go insane, they turn into people they'd never imagine they'd be and if someone crosses their territory-"

"They kill?" Emma guessed.

"Exactly." Dean said grimly.

"So how do we kill it?"

"We don't know. Body was cremated and, according to the family, there was no remaining body parts left to him." Sam answered.

"So how else can they still be here?"

"We don't know." Dean answered in an annoyed voice.

"Wait, so how did he die again?"

"He cracked his head."

"Did he bleed?"

"Yeah, obviously," Sam said blankly.

Emma raised her eyebrows at the both of them and widened her eyes, as if she was expecting them to suddenly hook onto something. Dean looked at Sam and shrugged and Sam pouted his lips in confusion. Emma rolled her eyes. "Blood is part of the body, isn't it?"

"Yeah it is-"Sam started before widening his eyes. "Emma, you're amazing!" he grinned, Emma rolled her eyes but laughed at the same time.

"I don't get it." Dean admitted in a confused tone.

"If the blood is still in the house, he could connect to that to his life source."

"Shit, good thinking Em, I knew there was a reason we brought you." Dean grinned.

"So, should we go now?"

"Now? I'm starving, man's gotta eat!" Dean opposed.

"Fine, we'll go to a diner before." Sam said rolling his eyes.

"So, we're actually doing this?" Emma asked nervously.

"Yeah, don't worry, if you're scared, you can miss out on this one."

"No," she said shaking her head. She wasn't going to back out this time, like she had done with everything in the past, she was sick of being afraid. "If we're going to kill this demon, I have to start getting over my fear of the supernatural, besides I didn't suffer being in the same car with you for two days to back out." She said sharply.

"Wow, feisty." Dean laughed.

She smiled, feeling slightly sorry for being offensive, before going to put her shoes on, she felt her heartbeat increase, it was the day she'd been dreaming of as much as she'd been dreading. But she was on a simple task with two trusting, experienced hunters. There was nothing to be afraid of.

X

"Can you guys go hunt this thing, I wanna marry this pie." Dean said dreamily.

"No, too bad, I'm counting on you." Emma joked.

"But, pie." Dean said sadly.

"It's getting dark." Sam said, looking outside the diner window. "We should get going."

He left a twenty-dollar bill on the table and got up, Emma followed, Dean looked at his plate, a depressed expression taking over his face.

"Dean, come on." Sam said, addressing him like a father telling his five-year-old son that it was time to leave the toy store.

"Pie, when will we ever get a happy ending?" he said miserably before following his brother and the redhead out of the diner and to the Impala. It was time to hunt down a ghost.


	13. Houses that are Abandoned are Haunted

"So… this is it?" Emma asked shakily as they pulled over to a house, it was in the middle of a field, in the middle of nowhere. The car headlights showed the house's busted in windows, the broken roof and the several holes in the wall.

"Yep." Dean answered.

"I thought the whole haunted abandoned house in the middle of nowhere was only a movie cliché?"

"Nope, this is the real deal honey." Dean said gruffly.

"Great. Why did we have to come at night, at all times?"

"Don't worry it's only six."

"Yeah, but it's still dark, why does everyone feel the need to hunt in the worst possible situations?" she asked shakily.

"She's right." Dean replied honestly as he turned to his brother.

They all got out of the car, Sam and Dean going to the boot afterwards and Emma slowly following them. There was a cold chill in the air, making Emma wonder whether if it was the ghost or just the February winter weather? She shook it off, trying not to think about it and instead looked down at the boot, seeing the range of weapons in the secret compartment, different types of guns, knives, even a stake. Dean threw her a torch, she caught it and flicked it on.

"Right, so what we're going to need for you is…this." He took out a riffle and filled it up with rock-salt bullets before passing it to her. "You ready?"

"No, but I suppose I've got to start sometime." She said unsteadily.

"Don't worry; this will be a walk in the park." Dean said reassuringly.

"Right let's go." Sam said, slamming the Impala's boot.

They slowly walked over to the house, she felt her heartbeat increase by the second. She tried to calm herself down, it was only a ghost, just a ghost, just someone who had died and yet was still conscious, just a dead person who had killed at least twenty people, she shivered suddenly.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked her in concern.

"Yeah, no…I'm just thinking about how crazy this whole thing is."

The younger Winchester laughed. "Don't worry, it's crazy- I can admit that- but it'll be fine, I promise."

"Thanks." She smiled.

They reached the door of the house, the door's red paint was peeling off and there were already some chunks of wood missing. Dean twisted the door knob and the door easily opened with a loud creak that echoed through the house, making Emma shiver.

"Okay, let's find this blood-stained carpet." Dean said excitedly.

He stepped inside, soon being followed by Sam and Emma. She had a rifle in one hand and her torch in the other. Shining her only light source around the house, she saw that there was a staircase in the middle of the house, leading up to a curtain of darkness. On each side of the staircase were two doors and another two doors were further down the hall. She saw a rat creep across the hall, making her jump. She felt her grip tighten on her weapon.

"What room first?" Sam asked.

"How about we split up, shout if you see it, or Rupie-Bear," Dean suggested, Sam nodded before looking over to Emma.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked.

She shook her head quickly. "No, it will be quicker this way." She regretted her words instantly, but she couldn't get the words out of her throat to ask him to stay.

"If you see anything, shout, I'll- Dean and I will be right there." he smiled.

"Thanks." She whispered before quickly walking to the door on the left and slowly entering, the door made a loud creak; she felt her grip tighten again. She took a few steps in the room before she felt someone shove her back into a wall, she screamed.

"YOU'RE GOING TO DIE FOR KILLING MY FRIENDS!" a deep voice shouted. It was pitch black, her torch shinning towards the ground, the hands pushed into her shoulders, forcing her back against the wall. She jerked her knee upwards before she felt it hit something, making him groan in pain and release her; she dropped her torch and pointed her rifle at him. Sam and Dean burst through the door; they both aimed their pistols at the mysterious body and shone both torches in his face.

"Get away from her!" Sam shouted.

"Mike?" Dean said roughly.

Dean put his gun away and Sam did too after he realised who the shadowy attacker was. Emma also realized that he wasn't a threat after the brothers' resilience to shooting him. She slowly picked up her torch again and shone it in her aggressor's face. He had a caramel brown face and brown curly hair, his deep brown eyes were in the direction of Sam and Dean.

"Wait!" he said, getting a small torch out of his pocket and shining it at the two male hunters. "F-FBI guys?"

"Yeah, what the hell are you doing here?"

"You believed me; you know there's something here! And guess what, it's a fucking ghost, I looked up the weird things you said, cold spots, flickering lights and I found out what it was myself. You're not the FBI, well at least not the normal kind."

"Wow, smart, A-plus." Dean said sarcastically.

"And I know how to kill it! Salt."

"That's not how you kill it." Sam said dully.

"And why did you think that she was the ghost?" Dean asked angrily. "For starters, why would she be a girl if you saw a boy and for seconds, why the hell would you try and man-handle one? How much research did you do?"

"I'm sorry, I freaked, but I'm going to get revenge for my friends' deaths."

"No buddy, you're going to go home." Dean said.

"I'm not, I'm going to kill that fricken ghost. I'm not leaving until that thing is dead."

Sam and Dean looked at each other before the long-haired hunter sighed. "Okay, but you follow our orders, okay," He demanded, Mike nodded eagerly.

"And friggin say sorry to Em," Dean added. He turned back to Sam. "The rug's not in here, is it?"

"No," Sam said after looking around the room with his torch.

"It wasn't in mine."

"I didn't have the chance to check."

"Okay, let's keep searching, and let's hope we don't find some other teens on the way."

They left the room.

"Sorry." Mike apologized, looking at Emma properly for the first time. "Woah." He said with a grin as his eyes slowly trailed down from her face to the rest of her.

"Are you done looking?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Umm…" he said, distracted by her chest.

She rolled her eyes before walking off and he followed her enthusiastically. She followed Sam and Dean down the dark corridor, Mike caught up with her and walked by her side.

"So, um, do you hunt ghosts often?" the male teen asked her curiously.

"First official time." She answered.

"Same, same." He agreed quickly. "I'm not scared though, I'm ready to k-kill this ghost."

"Yeah, kill it with _salt_." She said sarcastically. They reached the door Sam was at, at the second one on the right corridor. The younger Winchester pushed the door open, followed by Dean and then the two teens. There was old police tape, limp on the floor from when it was a crime scene.

"The police gave up on this a few days ago." Sam explained.

"Why?" Emma questioned.

"Teenager, party, law breaking, it's a cliché, they don't care about teenagers getting themselves stupidly killed." Dean clarified. "There was no evidence so they left it."

"Wouldn't the ghost have attacked them when they were here?"

"Maybe it was triggered by something, if one of the teens said or did an action that reminded the ghost of how it died it could make it suddenly strike out." Sam explained.

"Yeah, like it did on my friends." Mike said intensely. He shone his torch around the room, the pealing, green painted walls were splattered with fresh, crimson blood.

"Shout if you see anything that looks like old blood, it'll browner than the others." Dean said. They all split up, looking at different corners of the room. Emma looked at the carpet, there were blood splatters everywhere, it made her feel slightly queasy. They were only teenagers and they may have done some pretty idiotic things, but they were still people and a few minor mistakes in their lives didn't mean that they should have died for it. How could Sam and Dean say this was an easy task? This boy had killed over twenty people! It made her wonder and even fear of the tasks that were considered difficult.

Mike came to join her.

"Are you okay?" She asked him in concern. "About being in the room your friends died in?"

"Yeah," he said sadly. "But I'm not scared of this bastard, I'm gonna kill him."

"You seem pretty confident."

"Do I?" he grinned like a little boy before shaking his head and adding "I mean- yeah- of course I am" in a lower, more serious tone.

Emma walked over around the perimeter of the room, scanning the room and pointing her torch towards the floor.

"Did you know that my nickname at school is Mike the Spike, a-all the girls call me that, can you guess why?" Mike said, following her round the room.

She laughed, "Are you trying to flirt with me?"

"God, you're British, that's so sexy." He said in a high voice.

"Hey I heard that!" Dean said from across the room. "You've got a strike."

"How about we just focus on killing the thing that killed your friends okay?" Emma asked, blushing from embarrassment of the older Winchester's interruption and then quickly returning to look around the room with Sam and Dean for any sign of blood on the carpet.

"Yeah, okay." Mike said joining her. "But I survived, and, I'm-I'm a fighter and I-I will fight for you."

"Two strikes!" Dean warned.

"Why?"

"For making me want to throw up."

"I think I found it!" Emma said quickly a few seconds later.

The brothers and the _spike_ gathered around her. Emma shone her torch at a part of the carpet next to an old oak table. There was a reddish-brown stain on the it that was in a wonky circle about fifteen centimetres in diameter, worn into a white carpet, which was now slightly grey in colour.

"Nice one Em." Dean grinned. "Let's burn this baby up." he got out a lighter from his pocket. "Do you want to do the honours?" he asked her.

"Me?" she asked nervously.

"To symbolise your first hunt." He grinned.

She handed Mike her torch before going to collect the lighter from Dean. Sam went and made a circle of salt around the tanned teen.

"What are you doing?" the teenager asked.

"That salt will protect you against the ghost, stay inside it and you'll be protected." Sam answered.

"I want to fight-"

"If you want to survive, you won't." the younger Winchester answered before finishing the circle and going over to his brother and the red-head.

"Things are about to get scary, that ghost is gonna know we're about to kill it and it's going to make it angry, try I-want-to-murder-you angry." Dean explained.

Emma leant down towards the blood stain on the carpet, she flicked the lighter on and a yellow flame appeared. All of their torch lights flickered and she suddenly found a shiver of ice slither up her spine.

"Don't do it." A boy suddenly said, he was a young, short boy with brown floppy hair; he was wearing a pair of square spectacles. He was holding a ghostly looking; scruffy teddy bear that lacked colour and was now a whitish grey. He looked scared and his voice had a cold and frightened sound to it. He was extremely pale and she felt the room temperature instantly drop down to freezing point in seconds.

"Do it Emma!" she heard Mike shout, she felt the hand holding the lighter freeze above the blood spot, the flame being centimetres from the carpet.

"Why?" she asked shakily looking up.

"Because it's my home, and _they_ came in." the ghost raised his voice, but she heard that it had broken a little.

"You've killed people; it's time to suffer the consequences."

"They had no right to come in, they never listen." He said, pointing at Mike in the circle.

"You killed my friends!" the tanned student shouted.

"I tried to warn you! But they never listen!"

"Who didn't listen, Rup, who didn't listen to you?" she asked gently.

"Em, burn it." Dean said sharply. Rup slowly walked towards her. "You touch her and I'll shoot."

"And I'll-I'll throw salt at you!" Mike warned.

"Don't shoot Dean." She said softly before turning back to the spirit in front of her. "Who didn't listen?"

"I tried to warn them, they came in my house, they killed me!"

"You were the one who killed my friends." Mike spat.

"Not those people." Rupert replied angrily.

"Who?" Emma asked.

"I thought they were my friends, they said I was 'cool', I believed them. They turned up at my house, they were drunk, they forced their way into my house and I told them to leave. _They didn't listen._ I tried to get rid of them but they pushed me and the last thing I felt was my head banging a table." he said, pointing to the table by the blood stain. "They left me there, dead. When the people came, I told them to leave, they didn't listen, you didn't listen, they had to go-"

"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO KILL THEM!" Mike screamed before running out the circle of salt and throwing rock salt, from a large plastic bag, at the pale boy. Rupert vanished and then reappeared behind Mike before he threw the tanned boy against the wall.

Emma quickly set the blood stain on fire it took alight quickly. She looked over at Rupert, he dropped Mike to the floor and reappeared in front of her.

"It won't work." He said, looking over to her and his eyes saddening. "I tried to warn you, I tried to get you to leave me alone but you _didn't listen._ And now you'll all die."

Dean suddenly shot the ghost in the chest, it disappeared and reappeared suddenly behind Sam, he shoved them both against the wall. Emma froze again, watching the two being beat by Rupert. A pair of arms grabbed her and pulled her into the circle, she tried to run back to grab her riffle but the hands held her back.

"It's too dangerous, it's invincible!" Mike said, sounding terrified.

"I don't understand it didn't work." She said in confusion. "What do we do?"

"Why does he keep on holding on to that stuffed thing?" Mike asked worryingly.

"Can they become ghosts with them?"

"I read they can hold on to objects that were important to them."

Emma suddenly looked at Mike before grinning. "That's what it is! We've got to find his bedroom." She said before running out the circle and up the stairs, Mike followed.

X

"Rupert, we're sorry okay!" Sam said his voice strained from his body being forced in the air and against the wall. "But you killed people and we need to stop them."

"What about the jackasses who killed me? No one stopped them, no one even tried!" the ghost screamed.

"Look it's bad that you died," Dean said gruffly. "But do you think killing us or those children would make you feel better?"

"Those teenagers were just the same, they thought they owned this place, they thought that they could do anything they wanted and I couldn't bare it, they deserved to die; I wasn't going to be pushed around again!"

"I get it they were jerks," Sam said softly. "But you can be the better person, you can stop this. Don't kill any more people."

"I gave you a chance and you didn't listen." He whispered before clenching both of his fists. They felt their oesophagus tighten and the air being stolen from their mouths, they started gagging and their legs and arms kicked against the wall, struggling to get free, as they started to lose their consciousness.

X

Emma opened one of the doors and ran in, there was a broken bed in the room along with a broken desk and pealing blue paint on the walls. "This must be it!" she said quickly before going over to the bed and checking it for the thing she was looking for. She found a tatty teddy bear that looked identical to the one he was holding.

"Is that it?" Mike asked sounding scared.

"Must be." She whispered, she picked it up and grabbed the lighter out her pocket.

"Please." She heard a voice whimper behind her. She turned around to see that Rup was standing there, a ghost version of his teddy in his left hand. Mike grabbed the bag rock salt, that he had brought with him, from his pocket.

"Mike, don't." she whispered. She walked forwards slowly towards Rupert, the lighter and stuffed animal in her hands. "I'm sorry, I should've listened but I'm sorry." She set the bear on fire.

Rupert screamed before bursting in to flames, she shakily stepped backwards. It was horrific, hearing him yell in agony and knowing that she was the one that caused him that pain. Mike put his hand on her shoulder and she turned around and hugged him, crying softly into his shoulder. He put his hand on her head and stroked her hair slowly, he himself looking away also.

They heard footsteps before Sam and Dean ran into the room. Rupert then burst into one giant firework and disappeared as if he were never there at all.

Sam went to over to Emma and slowly took her from Mike's arms and held her tightly against his chest.

"I killed him." She whispered.

"It's okay." Sam said gently, taking her hand and bending down to be level with her. "It's over now."

"How did you?" Dean asked curiously.

"We set that thing he was holding on fire." Mike answered.

"Nice one."

"C'mmon, let's get out of here." Sam said, he led Emma out of the room and the others followed.

X

They made their way outside. It was still pitch black and the house was still abandoned but it didn't scare her anymore, everything had changed in those walls, it wasn't haunted anymore and that was good she supposed but she couldn't get rid of the burning body, she'd seen it once before, but this time it was different, this time it felt like it was a real human.

"What now?" Mike asked.

"Go home, get some rest." Sam told him.

"Will I see you again?" he asked hopefully, looking at Emma.

"No, you won't." Dean said simply.

"But-what- what will you do?"

"We'll continue hunting; these are our lives' kid."

"What if-what if it can be my life as well, I'll come. I'll fight with you."

"No, you won't. You'll go home, go to sleep, go to school and have a happy, long life." Dean instructed.

"Why? My life is boring."

"You don't want this life. It's the worst possible career you can dream of." Sam informed him softly.

"But I can't forget about this, I want to fight."

"You screwed things up okay?" Dean said seriously. "You may have saved our bacon, but you're not a hunter. You almost got us killed earlier and there's no way in hell that I'm going to let that happen again."

"Look we'll give you a lift home okay." Sam said kindly.

"No, it's fine, I can manage." He replied angrily.

"Whatever you say, c'mmon Sammy, let's pack the trunk." Dean said before he and Sam went over and put the riffles in the Impala's boot. Emma was about to follow them but Mike's voice addressed her in the darkness.

"So, I kinda saved you there."

"I suppose in a way." Emma smiled, her eyes were red and sore from the tears earlier but she felt slightly better.

"I told you I'd fight for you."

"Yeah, after you said you were going to kill me." She laughed.

"I'm sorry; I was kind of a jerk huh?"

"Yeah, but you were one because you loved your friends." She replied he walked closer to her. "Just please never organize illegal parties ever again, and listen."

"Emma, we've gotta go." Dean called, the two brothers got into the car.

"You can't go." He whispered, taking her hand. "You can't leave me forever. I want to know you… I want to be with you."

"I'm sorry." She said sadly. "I'm not made for this place."

"You are, I'm going to find you okay, I'm going to see you again." He said passionately.

"Goodbye Mike. My _hero_." She said, over dramatizing the last word in mock passion with a giggle before leaning forward and kissing him on the cheek. She slowly walked away, letting his hand stay entangled in hers before their distanced forced their touch to break apart. She got into the Impala and watched him before his body disappeared from sight she felt a tear rolled down her cheek before dropping onto her hand, the tear made for both Rupert and Mike.

 **So, overall, Emma's first hunt was pretty simple. First time writing a proper basic ghost-hunting trip, with the whole case involved not just the action part. Whoever knows what will happen next…**

 **Please follow or favourite if you liked and reviews are always welcome!**


	14. Homeward Bound

**Hey guys,**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter! ILoveThee: I think you'll like the beginning of this chapter…**

 **Follow and favourite if you liked and reviews are always welcome!**

When they got back to the motel, she quickly went to the bathroom to change and then crawled under the covers. She tried to think of something other than the traumatizing thing she had just witnessed and forget about the world she was now in where ghosts were real. She thought of Alex, Kevin, Alfie and the memories she had of them. The time they all went to the beech in the summer holidays, Alfie always got horribly sunburnt because he thought sun cream was useless and was to prideful to learn from his mistakes. She thought of the time Kevin called their math teacher 'mum' and how the whole class, including the teacher, laughed at him. She thought of the time with the fish, the time at the cinema, the church incident, the sleepover with Alex, the time she got stuck in a dress at the shop. She tried to think of Georgie but those memories wouldn't help her be happy. She thought of the memories of her three best friends until she fell asleep in the warm covers that protected her against the dangers of the world she was living in.

X

Before she knew it, the light was hitting her eyes, telling her that it was day. She slowly opened her eyes and sat up in her bed. Sam was packing his bag; he was the only other in the room.

"Time?" she asked groggily.

"Uh…" Sam said, looking at his watch. "10:45."

"How did I sleep for almost thirteen hours?"

"That's a good question." Sam laughed.

"Are we leaving soon?"

"Yeah, Dean's packing the car right now. I was going to wake you up in a few minutes actually."

"Sorry, I always oversleep. I used to naturally wake up at six." She laughed.

"It's fine." Sam smiled. "I just wanted to say Emma, you did good. You were more humane than any of us, you listened, you gave him a chance."

"I still killed him." She said miserably. Sam came to sit on the end of her bed and gave her a warm smile yet there was a blue glint in his eyes.

"You gave him a chance to explain himself; it was either us or him. You were brave Emma and in a way, you were the best out of all of us. You treated him like a human being."

"He was. He was a human being, who was killed unpremeditatedly, and then murdered again by me. He didn't deserve to die."

"He was going to live in that house forever if we didn't stop him, he's at peace now."

"I suppose." She said quietly. "It's just that- I thought that when I went into that house I would be scared of Rupert, but then I realized he was more scared of me. He was a boy, he was in still in love with his teddies, for god's sake, he didn't deserve it."

"You can't blame yourself, he had to die. Does this mean you don' want to do anymore hunts? There's nothing wrong with stopping."

Emma shook her head. She guessed she wanted to a bit but she knew she didn't want to give up just yet. "You need someone to be humane on the hunts." She smiled gently. Sam laughed before Dean came in.

"Hey, you're finally awake." The older Winchester announced jokily.

"Yeah, I should probably go get changed." She said before getting up to get her luggage bag and grabbing her day's clothes before going to the bathroom.

X

They left half an hour later but they exited the motel to see Mike sitting on a bench next to the building they had been staying in, he beamed happily when he saw Emma and stood up. She was surprised to see him again, having told herself that they would never meet again but couldn't help but grin when their eyes meet. He quickly walked over to the group.

"Can you give me a minute?" she asked hopefully to the brothers.

"Yeah, go on, see your prince charming." Dean allowed, he eyed Mike dangerously, "I'm watching you dude." He warned before he and Sam went to sit in the car.

"I told you I'd find you again." He grinned.

"How did you?" she giggled.

"I went to every motel in Queens, it took me four hours to find out you were in this one. I asked if there was a gorgeous redhead girl staying here with two older guys, and there was."

"How long have you been waiting here?"

"Two hours," he smirked at his loyalty.

She smiled sadly, looking down. "I like you, I really do but this is the last time that we'll meet, we're from two different worlds." She said truthfully. He took her hand.

"I wish things could be different." He said sadly. "I thought you were beautiful in the dark but now…in the light you are just-"he took a deep breath and breathed out, to describe how he saw her now.

"I hope you have the best life the world can offer Mike." She said before slowly walking backwards, their hands still connected, fingers gripping on to each other's.

"Not this again." He said before pulling her forwards so their bodies met, he put his left hand on her back and pulled her body to his, his left hands went to her cheek where he held his face before tilting his head and placing his lips on hers.

"Goodbye Mike." She whispered after they broke apart a few seconds later.

He let her go and she walked off back to the Impala, feeling a tear form and it burned her left eye. She got in the back of the car and looked out of her window to see Mike, watching him collapse onto the bench again and rested his head on his palms. The car started travelling down the road and right before they turned the corner, Mike looked up and his and Emma's eyesight's connected for one final time before being lost forever. She put her head on the car window and sadly looked out the window, the touch of Mike's lips still warm on her own.

"You and Mike had quite a moment there." Dean said cheekily from the front.

"I suppose." She replied sadly, looking at the world moving slowly outside the window.

"Do you like him?"

"Doesn't matter." She answered quietly.

Sam coughed loudly and, when Dean looked over at him, he raised his eyebrows and jerked his eyeballs backwards to indicate Emma and gently shook his head. Dean quickly got the signal and shut up.

X

Dean parked in a busy street in Manhattan. It took a few moments for Emma to realise that they were no longer moving and she wondered why they had; they weren't by a gas station, and it was too soon to stop for the night and they'd certainly weren't back at Bobby's.

"Where are we?" she asked confusingly, looking at the surroundings, they were parked outside a three-storey house with a neat hedge and a light blue front door with a gold number five on it.

"We are in the Big Apple." Dean answered. "And you are finally going to act like a tourist."

"Really?" she asked in excitement.

"Look at it as a first hunting trip reward." Sam added.

"So where do you wanna go first?" Dean asked. "Empire State, Statue of Liberty, a museum…for god knows why." He muttered under his breath.

"Central park?" the redhead asked hopefully, still not able to believe that her request was an actual possibility.

"All of those suggestions and you want to go lie on the friggin grass?"

"I've always wanted to go!" she defended.

"Fine, fine, we'll go." He gave in.

X

They walked in the entrance; she couldn't deny the fact that it took her breath away, more beautiful than Hyde or even Regents Park. The trees were bare, their branches pointing out like sharp knives, and the pathway was icy, the grass had a thick layer of frost for a coating, making the park look white and heavenly. There were carriages being pulled by horses, ducks swimming in the crystal blue lake and children were squealing in joy and running around or being carried by their loving parents.

"What do you want to do?" Dean asked.

"Walk around." She replied simply.

"Whatever you say." He replied.

They slowly began to make their way around the park, the path was a slippery track of death, every so often losing her balance and almost falling over. She didn't mind though, every corner they turned the park, in some way, turned more beautiful. Sam and Dean were trailing behind, they obviously weren't enjoying it as much as them but they had probably been to New York numerous amounts of time. She had always wanted to come here, from watching _Friends_ and hearing about it being the place of dreams. She'd never expected to be here by being forced into America by a demon but at least she was still here. Here, she felt peaceful; there was nothing sad or supernatural about this place. There were children, making memories that they'd cherish forever; adults jogging, probably a typical practice of their week in their normal, peaceful lives; elderly men and women walking side by side, holding hands, maybe they met in this park many years ago maybe this park was the most significant part of their relationship. She wished that she could be one of them, be here and it just being a part of a normal day, not realising how amazing it was, just living in the safety of the park forever. But she couldn't. She was just a tourist.

They finally sat on a bench by the Gapstow Bridge fourty-five minutes later. The wood was damp from the previous ice that had now melted.

"Nice park." Sam said simply.

"Yeah, nice." She said, trying not to show her true feelings of being in love with this place.

"So, can we go? I thought it was cold and now my butt's freezing." Dean said irritably.

Emma sighed, she wanted to stay but if the short-haired hunter was complaining, he wouldn't stop until his suffering was over.

"Fine." She gave in.

"Where next?" Sam asked.

"How about the Empire state building?" she asked hopefully

"Oh, c'mon it's going to be freezing!" Dean whined

"Dean, this is for Emma, remember?" Sam asked his brothers with risen eyebrows.

"Okay, okay, fine." Dean gave in. "We'll walk back to Baby and then go." He answered.

They stood up and took the short cut back to the Impala. she was sad to leave the park as it really was the place she thought it would be and not a place overrated by the media. It took them a quarter of an hour to get to the and another twenty until they managed to park about a convenient five-minute walk away. The icy air hit her as soon as she got out the car, vacuuming all of the warmth off her body.

X

They were soon at the top of the Empire State building about two hours later after an extremely long queue and a whole museum on the way up. The place was packed with tourists speaking in different languages and accents. She made her way outside, it was ten times colder being over a thousand of feet high up, her hair whipped in the wind that hit her like a thousand pins. She fought her way through the strong blast towards the edge and put her hands on the metal bars and went on her tiptoes to look down. She felt butterflies in her stomach as she saw the other buildings that were hundreds of feet shorter and the tiny specs travelling down on the ground that were people.

She felt the presence of Sam come to stand next to her and she turned her head slowly to her right to look at him before smiling slightly.

"It's amazing." She said feeling flabbergasted at the entire city being shown before her eyes, it was beautiful; the city she had always dreamed of visiting being displayed right in front of her.

"It is." He admitted.

"Thanks for bringing me."

"It's fine, Dean and I owe it to you, for your first hunt."

"I know the real reason you brought me." She said, turning to face him, she smiled widely and he chuckled. "A day out to help Emma forget about Mike." She narrated.

"I guess we weren't that good at hiding it." He laughed.

"You weren't…but thanks." She grinned.

"You're welcome." He smiled softly. "So, did it work?"

"It certainly helped." She grinned.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," she said quietly.

"Good." He said with a laugh. "Sorry, it's just that-I'm not good- I wouldn't know how to."

"It's fine. I didn't really like him that much but I suppose in the moment I did. He was really sweet, but it would never work."

"He was a bit out of your league." Sam said smugly.

"Thanks," she laughed.

"I thought it would be better here cos it was inside and now I've got fricken frost bite!" Dean said loudly behind them, coming to join the two others.

"Are you even paying attention to the view?" she asked the older brother with a giggle.

"You kidding me? I ain't looking down there- it's like a bazillion metres till the bottom. I mean, what if you fell, imagine hitting the ground after falling from all the way up here?"

"Yeah. Thanks for giving me that thought." She replied sarcastically.

"Excuse me," A French woman, who was joined with her partner, said behind the three, "If you're not going to look at the view can you move so we can see?"

"Oh," Emma said in surprise. She quickly looked around to see the whole perimeter filled with tourists taking pictures or looking at the view in awe but here they were talking instead of the thing they were actually supposed to be doing, which was sight-seeing.

"You two can wait your turn." Dean told them sharply.

"Dean!" Emma said in shock, feeling mortified to his bluntness before turning to the couple and saying "Yes, of course, sorry." And clearing the way.

"Em!" Dean said in disappointment as he and Sam followed, letting the couple move in to their spot. "Why the hell did you give up our space?"

"Because we weren't using it."

"So? We waited two hours to come here."

"I guess we could wait until there was another space." Sam suggested.

"No," Emma sighed, "This place is packed and it would take ages to get another spot and Dean's cold."

"No, no, no." Dean quickly reassured her, "I'm not, we can stay up here if you want."

"Dean, I know about the whole ruse."

"What ruse, there isn't a ruse!"

"I know about the trip to Manhattan being about Mike rather than a celebration for my first hunt."

Dean hesitated before turning to Sam and angrily saying "You told her about the ruse?!"

"Sam didn't," Emma quickly reassured the older Winchester before his brother could reply, "It was kind of obvious. It worked though, so thank you."

"Well, anything to help, kiddo." The older man grinned.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Sam asked the girl curiously.

"I don't know." she admitted, looking around to see how crowded the place was and knowing how hard it would be to get a good viewing space again. "I guess we could go somewhere else?"

The two brothers looked at each other before Dean answered, "Look, me and Sammy would love to go a lil more sight-seeing with ya but we should probably get back on the road."

"Oh," she said in surprise, "Yeah, yeah sure, that's fine."

"Don't worry though, we can stop off for food before we go."

"Sorry, Emma." Sam apologized.

"No, it's fine, seriously." She smiled widely. She guessed she wished that she could stay in Manhattan for a while longer or maybe even forever but she knew that the Big Apple could only stay fresh for so long. It was time to go back to the less-extravagant but still pretty surreal world that she now lived in.

X

"You didn't listen." Rupert said his face centimetres away from hers. She looked around for Mike, he wasn't there, neither were Sam or Dean. She was alone with only a ghost for company. She felt his presence, his body creating a thick, icy mist that swaddled her like a blanket of discomfort. His body was a dull grey colour that made him look seriously ill, his bright green eyes now faded and hidden behind his spectacles. The ghost version of his stuffed bear clutched in his hand, but now it had stuffing leaking out its sides, the glass eyes replaced with buttons and long thick claws coming out its paws. "You didn't listen." He repeated. She tried to say sorry but the words weren't coming out, it was like he ripped out her vocal cords.

Suddenly his body burst into flames, he suddenly became human again, colour seeping into his skin again. Red blisters appeared on his body before he began to crumble started to turn into ash. His loud shriek pierced the room, his pain and sadness breaching through his voice by a scream that filled the room, getting louder and louder, making her eardrums throb and her heartbeat quicken. She put her hands on her head and crouched down, feeling herself going insane from being forced to watch and listen to a human being tortured and burned alive.

She was plunged into a world of darkness; she sat up quickly, letting out loud, quick, shaky breaths. Her heart was bruising her chest from it beating so quickly and cold sweat clung to her arms. Her eyesight slowly adjusted, it was their motel room. It was dark apart from the light coming from a laptop; Sam was sat at the table with a beer bottle half full, accompanied with two empty ones. The man slowly turned around when he heard rapid breathing. "Emma?" he asked curiously but when the breathing got heavier and there was no reply, he quickly went to the side of her bed and turned on the bedside lamp.

"Emma?" he repeated, the dim yellow light illuminating the redhead's face, her eyes were wide and looking at him in shock, her skin looking slightly pale and her arms shaking slightly. "What happened?"

She opened her mouth but her intense breathing made it extremely difficult to speak. "H-He was a h-human."

"It was a nightmare, okay?" he said gently. "Try and take it easy, take deep breaths."

She did as he said, she took a deep breath and slowly let it out, and she carried on doing it a few more times before her breathing was back to normal.

"Better?" Sam asked hopefully, she nodded but her expression still held the impression of her being scared. "What was the nightmare?"

"I…um, it was about Rupert, he was dying again." She struggled out.

"It was just a dream." He told her softly, she nodded before bowing her head slightly. "Try to go to sleep." She nodded again before slowly repositioning herself on her back.

"Can you…um-"

"I'll stay here until you fall asleep." He smiled kindly.

"Thanks." She whispered before closing her eyes, trying to not think of Rupert and revisiting the memories she thought of last night about Alex, Alfie and Kev before sleep slowly endorsed her and took her into a world of sleep for the rest of the night.

X

"Morning sunshine!" Dean shouted in her ear, making her snap her eyes open, she slowly sat up in her bed. The older Winchester was by her bed, fully dressed with a toothbrush hanging in his mouth. "Time to go sweetheart," he announced.

She yawned and slowly got up and out of the warm bed to go to her luggage bag and fish out the things she would wear today: a pair of black jeans and a navy-blue sweatshirt. She lazily got out her comb and started to brush through her bed-hair whilst Dean finished his morning routine in the bathroom. He came out a few minutes later.

"What time is it?" she asked feeling extremely tired.

"Around eight in the morning," The Winchester answered.

"Why so early?"

"We wanna reach Bobby's by tonight so it's gonna be a long day for us."

"Joy." She said sarcastically before going to the bathroom to have a shower and get ready.

X

When she got out, Sam was in there packing his bag.

"Hey," he addressed her before grabbing a wrapped package off the table and passing it to her. It was lukewarm and soft. "Bacon roll."

"Thanks." She smiled, putting her clothes and wash bag in her carrier bag and sitting on the end of her bag, slowly unwrapping the paper packaging.

"Are you alright now?" he asked in concern.

"Alright?" she asked in confusion before remembering the dark events of last night, making her shiver slightly.

"I'm sorry." Sam said quickly after seeing her discomfort.

"It's fine." She whispered. "Just a nightmare."

"Just a nightmare," he repeated with a soft smile.

"Thanks for-um-helping me yesterday." She said feeling slightly embarrassed.

"It's fine, seriously, we've all been there." he reassured her, she nodded quickly.

Dean opened the door and walked in.

"Baby's ready to go when we are." He announced.

X

They left ten minutes later, after Emma finished her breakfast. The car journey was long and tedious, according to Dean, it would take another fourteen-hour drive until they reached Bobby's house. The trip to New York gave them a five-hour delay, but it was definitely worth it. She looked out of the windows when they reached Indiana; it was mostly fields with a few farms dotted around. Dean was playing his cassettes at full volume, singing along in his deep and wispy voice that filled the Impala.

The day seemed to last forever, the sun dragging slowly along the cold blue sky. They had stopped four hours in for lunch and then another couple times, as the afternoon turned into early evening and finally for dinner in a diner on the motorway at eight, in Missouri. She looked out of the window into the pitch blackness, wondering what she would have done today at school. It was Friday, she would have had double silent study lessons and then quadruple history in the afternoon, which would be Mrs Hinge ranting on about how the Magna Carter and how important it was even to this day. Emma and Alex used to call her Bloody Mary because of how her whole class hated her. She laughed, quietly thinking of that conversation in which her nickname was invented. Her smile saddened when she realised how much she missed her. Alex was the one who normally helped her when she was in need and now she was on her own. She knew what she would say if she saw her now, 'oh Em, I know I'm your guardian angel but you're just going to have to fly solo for a while' she giggled slightly, her best friend knew how to be comforting and still have her humour and that was why she loved her. After school, she would normally hang out with Alfie and Kev in their year's common room, talking or watching the TV, being normal teenagers, or normal teenagers who were forced into boarding school. After hours, she and Alex would go to their dorm room and sit opposite each other, cross legged on one of their beds, reading ' _Hello_ ' magazine, the only connection to the outside they had, daydreaming over pictures of Hugh Grant or David Beckham and drawing moustaches or tattoos over the annoying celebrities like Tony Blair. The two both knowing how much their parents would despise them reading such gutter-literature when they were in one of the most elite boarding schools in Britain. Talking, arguing, laughing, just a normal typical night for them in a normal typical life.

She managed to stay awake until one, thinking about old memories whilst the cassettes played in the background. They weren't stopping for the night and she was kind of glad, she didn't want to be on the road for another day, she needed a break. She'd wanted to get away from Bobby's for so long, it got so boring there but now she was glad that she was almost back. Soon enough, without realising it, she fell asleep, head against the window, hand pressed against her head like a pillow.

X

"Home sweet home," Dean announced tiredly as they pulled into Bobby's front yard at three in the morning. Sam sat up and blinked excessively several to wake himself up; he had been up for nineteen hours straight, unable to sleep and forced to listen to his brother's taste of music. He knew all of the cassettes by heart now and was too used to the routine to argue.

Dean turned around to proclaim the news of the homecoming to Emma but found the redhead unconscious in the back seat. "Uh oh, we gotta sleeper." He announced.

Sam turned around to see the girl in the back, she was limp on the leather seats; body slumped horizontally on the car cushions, stretching the seat belt across her chest and hair covering her face like a curtain. The two got out of the Impala and the night's cruel wind instantly covered them in a layer of ice. Walking over to the door behind his where Emma was sleeping, he pulled the cold metal latch that opened the door. He gently shook her shoulder but after it was clear that Emma would not wake, he carefully leant over to unclip her seatbelt that was underneath her stomach. He then slowly placed his hands on either side of her lower waist and pulled her up so she was sitting straight then put his right hand under both of her knees and leisurely and prudently lifted her out of the vehicle into the winter darkness. He put his left arm underneath her knees and his right hand on her back so carried her sideways. Her arms self-consciously wrapped around his neck, head leaning below his collarbones and breathing quietly so he could feel her warm breath on his skin, contrasting with the cold wind attacking the rest of his body. He carried her over to Dean, who was unpacking the luggage from the boot.

"Aw, ain't she adorable?" he cooed jokily.

"She's lucky she can sleep through your music." Sam said in jealousy.

"Hey! My music's great!"

"Yeah, whatever, I'm gonna take her inside."

"Make sure to tuck her in tight." The older brother instructed in a mock-serious tone.

He took her upstairs and into her room, slowly placing her into the bed that hadn't been slept in for a few days. Her arms slowly untangled from his neck as he gradually started to lift his head away from hers, they then dropped onto the bed by her sides. He took her shoes off and placed them at the end of her bed before pulling the covers from under body and placing them over her until they came up to her shoulders. Sam smiled softly as he watched over the girl, who was now peaceful and distracted by dreams for the night, before leaving the room and crashing on the couch and finally falling asleep after an extremely long and boring day.


	15. Family History

**Hey guys, shorter story today but I hope you enjoy!**

 **Thank you to Happygoddess2003 for reviewing- reviews really help for motivation and criticism and I'll love to hear what you all think so far!**

 **Anyhoo, I hope you like this chapter and please follow and favourite if you enjoyed and reviews are always welcome!**

Emma slowly woke up the next morning and eventually adjusted to her surroundings. At first, she thought they had stopped at a motel again until she realised that Sam and Dean were absent. She looked around the room, after seeing wardrobe and then the bedroom door she knew all too well. Grinning at the fact that they were finally back at Bobby's, she was relieved to know that there was no more travelling for a while. She had no memory of returning home yesterday… maybe she was too tired to remember. Realizing that she was in the clothes she'd been wearing for more than twenty-four hours, she quickly rushed to the wardrobe and got changed into a pair of light blue jeans and a plain red t-shirt.

She made her way downstairs to the kitchen and dining room where she found Sam, Dean and Bobby.

"Hey sleeping beauty." Dean announced with a grin. She guessed that he had called her that nickname because she always over slept.

"Hi," she smiled back.

"Nice to see you again Emma, good to see these two idgits kept you alive." Bobby chuckled.

"Hey we weren't that bad!" Dean defended.

"I like to hear you say that again."

"Well, to be honest it was mostly Emma keeping us alive." Sam added, giving Emma a quick smile that made her cheeks turn a light shade of pink.

"Well it seems this girl may have some fire in her." Bobby complemented.

"Yeah, maybe that's why Cas brought her here." Dean grinned. "Talking of that feathery assed angel, where the hell is he?"

"He's Cas… when _do_ we know where he is?" Sam shrugged.

"Well he's certainly taking his time telling us exactly what's going on." Emma sighed.

"Don't worry, he'll turn up sooner or later." Dean said confidently.

"So, what's the plan for today?" She asked.

"Nothing, this is what we call a 'Hunter's Weekend'."

"When have you ever called it that?" Bobby asked sounding like a cranky, old man.

"Well I'm calling it that now." Dean stated boldly.

"So, can we go out or something?" She asked hopefully.

"Really aren't you tired?" Sam asked.

"Yeah you seemed pretty tired last night." Dean said with a chuckle.

"I did?" she asked curiously, she didn't even know what happened last night.

"Yeah, you seem to be a heavy sleeper, Sammy had to carry you in."

"He did?" she asked, looking at Sam, who smiled gently at her as if he were reassuring her to not be as embarrassed as she felt in that moment, making her cheeks grow warm once more.

"Yeah," Sam admitted. "But you were saying about going out somewhere?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Um, yeah." She said, but she still looked mortified.

"What about pie? We can go out for pie?" Dean asked hopefully.

"You had pie yesterday." Sam replied to his brother's suggestion.

"What? I like pie!"

"I don't really mind where we go, just as long as it's somewhere normal." Emma shrugged.

"Okay, we'll see what's there." Sam decided.

X

They left at eight to go to search for a place to eat. They found a curry house about half an hour away. The restaurant was warm and dark inside, with big, blue, glowing orbs were sitting on each table as a lamp and several, black, fancy chandeliers, with blue lightbulbs, hanging from the ceiling. The walls were a dark plum colour which seemed to dullen the room. It was a casual lay out with black, faux leather armchairs as seats and a black matte table to eat on. There were around forty people in the room but it still looked fairly empty as they were spread out around the considerably large room.

A waiter showed them to a table that was sat next to a mirror with a black frame hung on the purple wall. The menus were placed in an A4 black leather jacket with two sheets of laminated white paper placed inside. On the table, along with the orb and the menu were purple fabric napkins, that matched the wall, and where folded into the shapes of swans.

"Well this place is fancy and a half." Dean stated before flicking the beaming, blue sphere in approval.

"Looks pretty neat," Sam complimented. "So, was this what you had in mind when you said you wanted to go out?" He asked Emma.

"Yeah," she smiled; it was good being out and around normal people again without feeling out of place. Even though she was in New York a couple days back, the whole Rupert thing was still haunting her.

X

An hour later they were all full up, Dean's plate was free of any food but the two others had surrendered and were unable to finish their cuisine. Emma had the chicken korma, whilst Dean had the same but with lamb as the entrée whilst Sam chose a beef masala.

"That was some spicy shit just there!" Dean said, sitting back on the couch and throwing his, now crumpled swan napkin, on the table. "We should have curry more often, it's awesome!"

"Oh no, Dean's got a new love interest." Sam joked.

"Nah, pie will always be my number one gal, as well as Baby of course!"

"Right well, I'm going to go to the restroom before we go." Sam announced after paying the bill, by throwing a fifty and twenty-dollar bill down, before leaving the table.

"So, your family, they were rich, would this be their kind of place?" Dean asked the redhead casually.

"Maybe," she'd smiled. "But they'd never go for anything that looked this modern or anywhere that looked remarkably interesting."

"You're old folks sound fun." He said sarcastically.

"Well, what's more fun than being forced into uncomfortable clothes by your mother to go and talk to annoying snobby family friends." She laughed.

"Oh wow, your mom seems like a great lady."

"Yeah, well I bet yours are greater." She gambled. "Talking of, I don't think you've mentioned your parents so far, I mean, did Bobby become your adopted father after he died?" she asked, realising that she hardly knew anything about the boys' family history.

"Um, no, Bobby was more like my dad's hunting friend but he looked after us more than he ever did." Dean admitted, sitting forward in his armchair.

"So, was your father always a hunter?"

"No, he became one after an incident."

"What was it?" she asked but after seeing Dean abandon eye contact to look down at the table in silence, she realised she had just trespassed on a sensitive topic. "Oh gosh, sorry! I didn't mean to intrude."

"No, no it's fine, you're basically one of us now so you should know stuff like this." He smiled sadly before taking a big breath and clasping his hands together. "Once upon a time there was a lovely married couple called John and Mary Winchester. They decide to have a boy called Dean and another called Sam, and they were a happy family. Until one night, when Sammy was six months old, a yellow eyed demon came into his nursery and bled into his mouth and then he killed Sammy and Dean's mother setting the house on fire. John saved the two children and himself but Mary died. John then wanted revenge and spent over twenty-friggin-years trying to track the bastard down, making his two kiddies stay in motels and move around the country all of their childhood. John did this until he died. Two parents and two children who were supposed to be a normal family and now two were dead and the rest living a dysfunctional, screwed up life that their father left for them. The end."

Emma opened her mouth, she'd never heard something so tragic in her life. She felt like she was going to cry like she did at the end of a sad film but it wasn't a film, it was their reality. They had been put through shit and god knows how they managed to survive. It made her parents seem like guardian angels even though they really didn't act like it.

"Oh my god Dean!" she exclaimed after hearing the heart-breaking story that Dean had just told her.

"Okay, let's go." Sam said after returning to the table.

"Yeah," Dean replied quickly. "Getting pretty late." He smiled at Emma, as if telling her not to worry about what she had just heard, who smiled sadly back, before she blinked away the water that stung her eyes and getting up to go back with the brothers to continue their shitty, tragic lives.


	16. Popcorn and Clouds

Four days later they were all sitting in the living room watching a documentary on the evidence of the Christian god existing, on an old analog TV. Emma was sat between Sam and Dean and Bobby was placed on an armchair, only half listening to the television program as he was flicking through an ancient looking book on Banshees for another hunter. It had been a relaxing four days, as she had had a break from shooting practice along with also recovering from her first hunting trip, Rupert now at peace in the past. The two brothers had been previously squabbling about popcorn, as the older sibling had brought a big bowl of it with him in the room, a debate Bobby pointed out had been discussed before. Dean was certain that popcorn was, in his words, 'classic movie food', whilst Sam argued that was tacky and tasted like "rubber ass". They made Emma pick a side like two parents trying to gain custody.

"I would have to agree with Dean." She finally decided as the two fighters were eager to see who had gained victory.

"That's my girl!" Dean shouted in happiness, punching her lightly on the shoulder.

"What why?" Sam asked the red head in betrayal.

"Popcorn is just always going to be one of those things that you can't avoid. Who would go to see a film and not have popcorn?" she stated. "Unless it's salted then you can just throw it in the bin."

"Bobby, c'mon can at least you have my back?" Sam begged the older man.

"I'm not getting involved in one of your kiddie arguments again." The older man replied irritably.

Sam groaned and leant back on the sofa, finally admitting that he was outnumbered. They continued watching the documentary on whether or not God was real. By Castiel's existence, she knew that there was a God, which was what she had always been brought up to believe, but Dean had informed her that God was a douchebag, taking her by surprise. All of her life the image of God being omnibenevolent and being the good guy was drilled into her brain, every Sunday morning at the church now felt like a waste of time or a massive lie. According to the two brothers God didn't care, even though Cas still seemed pretty faithful to his father, and he had pretty much abandoned earth. Emma still remained to have a little bit of faith, however, of course there was always hope of someone or something out there watching over them.

"Oh seriously, she sees a Virgin Mary shaped cloud and now it's a frigging miracle or something?" Dean asked through a mouthful of popcorn as a woman talked of her religious experience that convinced her God was real. "How are clouds even miracles, how are clouds even relevant to anything?"

"Hello." A deep voice said from behind, causing them all to spin around. Cas was standing there, wearing the same clothes as last time and his black hair looking mess as if he had just travelled through a storm.

"Cas, finally!" Dean said happily.

"Good news?" Sam asked hopefully.

Cas walked round so he was in front of the sofa they were sitting on, watching the TV with a curious expression. "Are you viewing a man-made film about my father?"

"Yeah," Dean replied, getting the TV remote and pressing the red circle at the top, making the moving picture disappear into blackness. "But that doesn't matter now. You took your frigging time."

"I apologize for that." He said, looking at Emma.

"So, _do_ you have news?" she asked eagerly after the angel didn't reply to Sam's question.

"Yes." He answered shortly.

"And?" Dean questioned after the angel didn't say anything else.

"A few other angels and I have been tracking Surozahl down and we were not able to find him, this demon is using techniques we've never seen before, but we did find one of his allies. We have been using extreme methods to gain information but this demon would not break. The only data we have succeeded in obtaining is that Surozahl is exceptionally infuriated at your escape from him which I provided. He knows that angels are helping you and he knows that you are with the Winchesters, making it easier for him to track you down."

"How does he know that we're with her?" Sam asked curiously.

"I don't know. What we do know is that he has demons working for him but we know that Surozahl doesn't have a particularly big army."

"Well that's a good thing." Dean pointed out.

"Surozahl now has an idea to where and when I transported you to."

"Has he been waiting five years to find out?" Emma asked, knowing that the last time Surozahl and she had met was back in 2004.

"No, he has the power to time travel." Cas answered. "He's working on the Winchesters' whereabouts to find you."

"Does he know where we are?" Sam asked curiously.

"Yes." The angel replied.

"Shit." Emma whispered, she felt herself starting to panic. this demon knew where she was, this monster was the demon that possessed her boyfriend and tried to kill her with a knife. "W-what do we do?"

"You, Sam and Dean need to get away from here, this demon is hunting you down, but if we know he is tracking you down it will be easier for us to trap him. I will continue to search for information on him and I will contact you once I have more knowledge." Cas said before disappearing a few seconds later.

"We need to get out of here." Dean said darkly.

"We'll leave at dawn." Sam decided.

"I-I should go pack." Emma said quickly before leaving the living room to go upstairs.

She felt terrified, even walking up the stairs was hard, her legs and arms were shaking violently, she was literally being hunted, something out there wanted to kill her. She almost expected the demon to be sitting in her room when she arrived. Would he still be using Dean Hawkes' body or would he have possessed another innocent person to use for his disgusting own demonical use? She slowly opened the door to her room, preparing herself to scream for the two brothers if she saw anyone or thing in there. Luckily it was empty with no sign of her ex-boyfriend or a demon of any kind.

She quickly went to grab the luggage bag that she had taken on her first trip before travelling to the wardrobe and ridding it from all of her new clothes inside. She stuffed all of her underwear in one of the two side pockets to start with and then went on to t-shirts, trying to fold them neatly but found her hands were shaking excessively. She felt even more petrified then when he came after her the first time, back then it felt to surreal to be real, like it was a horrible dream she was trapped in but now, _now_ she knew that everything was as it was. A demon was hunting her down and a he had some sick, passionate loathing towards her for unknown reasons. She attempted folding a plain green t-shirt but it after the fourth try she crumpled it up and threw it across the room, which managed to ease some of her frustration. Picking up another item of clothing from the pile, which was baby-blue sweatshirt, she tried to fold it but it was as if her hands were uncontrollable. They were trembling horrifically and she couldn't stop it. She put her head down in the cold, soft piece of clothing and leant against her knees, the cotton fabric muffling her shaky breaths and absorbing her tears.

She was just feeling at home here and she was confident that she could make it but now the demon was pushing her out of her home once more. Why couldn't he just leave her alone? What was she to him? He'd taken everything away from her, even her capability to fold a fucking shirt. She felt her body swaying herself back and forth like a mother rocked her baby to sleep, going back to old methods that she used to preform to calm herself from the manic terrors she faced back home.

Sam slowly pushed open the door to Emma's room ten minutes later. He and Dean had already packed, with them both not having many possessions to their name, just their clothes, phones, the older brother's car and the younger's laptop. The two hunters were used to these precautions, seeing as they had basically been on the run their entire lives. They'd predicted that the demon would find her eventually, demons always did, but in a way, this was a positive sign. Surozahl could follow Emma like a fish chasing bait, meaning they would be able to lure him into a trap, and make him think that he's the one hunting them when in reality it would be the complete opposite.

He found her surrounded by clothes and an empty looking luggage bag. Face was hidden behind her mass of fierce red hair and arms wrapped around her knees, hugging them tight for support, the young girl was silently sobbing into a light blue sweatshirt. She reminded him of himself, back when his own demon, Azazel, had killed his mother and then his girlfriend Jess. The yellow-eyed enemy had taken everything away from him, his mom, his father's sanity, Dean's and his childhood, his chance at having an education at Stanford and the love of his life. Even though her demon wasn't Azazel, he knew how she felt from having to deal with it first-hand.

He gently began to make his way over to the girl on the other side of the room, dodging the clothes splayed around the room. He slowly sat down next to her, realizing that the girl was rocking back and forth slightly and shaking. "Hey," he said softly.

She quickly jumped and whipped her head back to see who'd disturbed her. Her eyes were puffy and black liquid was running down her cheeks like two thins streams.

"Only me." He reassured her after seeing the redhead's startled reaction.

"I'm sorry." She sniffed.

"There's nothing to be sorry for."

She nodded slightly before resting her head on his shoulder. She whispered "I'm just- I'm so confused and annoyed and…tired of it all. It doesn't make any sense to me."

"I know, but we'll find out, I promise."

"I don't want to see him again, and I know that's stupid to say because I will, but… I'm not- I'm not ready."

"I know… nobody would if they were going through what you are. And you're not stupid to say that Emma, you have every right to be scared."

"But being scared means I'm weak doesn't it? I can't be frightened if I don't want to lose against him."

"Being scared now only means you have a chance to strengthen your weaknesses against him. We have time Emma, plenty of it and when the time does come, you won't have to face him alone." He felt the girl nod on his shoulder.

She slowly hoisted her head off her shoulders and combed her hair through with her fingers a few times. Sam pulled down his sleeve of his grey plaid shirt so it covered his hand and moved his un-sleeved hand to the back of her head; he then slowly put the shirtsleeve under her left eye and wiped the gloomy-black droplets off her face.

"I'm sorry but I don't think that the dark smudge was working for you." He stated jokily before moving to the other eye. She let out a quiet giggle as Sam moved his hands away. "That's better." He whispered.

"Thanks Sam." She said softly, the corners of her mouth creeping up toward a smile.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. Do you want me to help you out at all?"

Emma nodded; she picked up the sweatshirt that she had problems with earlier. "Yeah, I'm kind of having a crisis here… I couldn't even fold this shirt." She admitted, her gaze leaving his in embarrassment.

Sam chuckled before taking the blue sweatshirt from her and hastily folding it before handing it back to the girl. She placed it in her luggage bag and they both worked as a duo to pack her clothes away into the bag which would now hold all her possessions.

X

"Thank you, Bobby, for everything." Emma said with a beam the next morning.

They were all standing outside the house that she had been staying in for the last five weeks. It was the crack of dawn the next morning after Castiel's warning, they had to get up early for the extremely long day that they were about to proceed to. She barely got any sleep, scared to fall unconscious in case the demon would magically know and attack her in her doze. The Impala was packed and ready to leave Kansas as soon as they were and travel on the troublesome roads ahead.

"You're welcome Emma." Bobby said with a rare smile. "I'm trustin' you to keep these two in line."

She laughed before hugging him for the last time and kissing him on the cheek before going to the car leaving Sam and Dean with the old man.

"You keep her alive, mark my words." Bobby instructed his two sons.

"Of course!" Sam said sounding surprised that Bobby had even conjured the idea of Emma somehow dying.

"We'll try." Dean said in a grim voice, looking at the redhead adjusting her seatbelt.

"You better, you don't get a kind, good-spirited, young girl like that every day in the world we live in. You kill that demon and you kill him good and get that girl back to her care free life."

"You care for her, don't you?" Sam asked him with a smirk.

"She's one of us now and I like to look after our family."

"I think Bobby's got a new daughter." Dean joked to his brother.

"No, I'd be a horrible father." Bobby said darkly.

"You were great with us." Sam said truthfully.

"Yeah well…" Bobby drifted off. "You two better get on your way, get far away from that bastard while you can, get her safe."

"Yes sir!" Dean said with a mock salute.

The two brothers joined Emma in the car and soon the engine rumbled like bellowing thunder clouds from the skies above.

"Where now?" Emma asked curiously, feeling half-nervous and half-sad.

"Dean and I found a case in Nashville." Sam explained.

"Seems like a good trek away." Dean added.

"So, another hunt, what's the job?" She questioned, she wasn't expecting to be facing any supernatural being again so soon but then again it was like practice for the real thing.

"Ghost again." The older brother answered.

"And we'll go from there." the younger finished. "Where the case is, we will go."

"Doing jobs will give us something to do." Dean explained.

"I can tell." She replied. "I'm guessing that that's how you used to live your lives before I came?"

"Yeah, on the road twenty-four seven, Bobby's was a fun holiday but it's time to get back to routine with you as our new companion of course."

"Let's get going then." She smiled softly.

"Yes ma'am!" Dean shouted mockingly in the front seat.

The car slowly started moving, Bobby's house slipping away from view, she looked outside of the window, grabbing the last chance to lay her eyes on the building again until it disappeared forever. She leant her head across the glass of the Chevy Impala car, it was gone, it was really gone forevermore. This wasn't like last time, she wouldn't go for a few days and then come back to Bobby's, this was the real thing. She never realised how much that house had meant to her, sure she may have woken up in Bobby's panic room and felt terrified or be extremely bored and sick of having to stay in the house all day but it had been her home for over a month, she had become accustomed to its walls and roof. She knew she'd miss Bobby, as he had certainly become a friend and it now dawned on her that she would never hear his voice again. Even though he was normally grouchy or sarcastic, she was sad to realise that they may never meet again. This was a new chapter to her life… well a new chapter in a new story of her life. This was chapter two out of however many sections there would be, this may being the beginning or the final part of her story with the Winchesters. Who knew how long this story would actually be and how it will end?

"Are you alright back there?" Sam asked turning around in his seat after seeing the girl in the back glancing out of her window with a sad expression painted on her face.

"Yeah, fine just pretending that this is a normal road trip." She joked.

"Don't worry, it is." Dean reassured, "Except we're hunting a few things along the way."

"And a demon is also tagging along." She added quietly.

"Don't worry Emma. You're perfectly safe with us." Sam smiled.

"Yeah, you'll be fine." Dean said although his voice portrayed him as uncertain. He hoped Emma couldn't see through his lack of faith as he knew almost certainly that the road ahead would be divergent with different perils and speed bumps. He just hoped that the redhead wouldn't trip on the way but he knew that his brother and himself would be there to stabilize her as much as they possibly could.


	17. Far Away

**Hey guys, sorry for the late update but as an apology, I will update every day this week!**

 **Recap: Cas came to Bobby's and told them all that Surozahl is on their tail, forcing the Winchesters and Emma to leave the older man's house permanently and get back on the road.**

The day seemed to last for years, the sun slowly dragging itself from east to west like an exhausted student walking their way home from school. The tires of the Impala were rolling on the coal black tarmac of the long, never ending roads, winding from city to city and state to state. Frost evaporated off the grass as the sun slowly rose to the centre of the sky and then the light started to dim as the yellow orb started to fall. By the time of seven in the evening, they had arrived in Nashville, Tennessee and the Impala came to a final stop by a motel at the edge of town.

Emma quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and almost leapt out of the car as if it were on fire, into the freezing winter air. It was lightly raining, the small, icy droplets hitting her skin and covering her body in cold water. It was mostly blackness outside, the only light coming from the M, T and L from the motel sign, along with some of the rooms whose lights were still on. But even with the darkness and the terribly horrible weather, she was glad to be out of the Impala after a tedious day of travelling, and was eager to walk around again and use her legs. She wondered around the parking lot to get some of the little exercise she would receive that day. Sam and Dean slowly followed her in leaving the Impala, obviously less eager to leave the metal machine as they were used to long days of travelling and sitting still.

She returned to them to receive her bag from the boot a few minutes later and walked to the entrance to their lodgings for the next few days, as she went on her second hunt. There was an old man, who looked about fifty, asleep at the reception desk, his head resting on the work surface and a trail of glistening drool coming out of his mouth. Dean went to the old brass bell, which was directly next to the right man's ear, and hit it harshly, making a loud ping hit the room. The fifty-year-old woke up with a startled look on his face, waving his hands around in all directions like he was trying to swat a million flies. Dean turned around at Emma and gave her a grin, trying to hold back his laughter; Emma giggled but felt slightly bad for the receptionist.

"One room, three double beds please."

"What kind of kinky stuff are you into pal?" he cackled.

"No, no, no." Dean said quickly, looking at Emma and then Sam and shaking his head vigorously. " _Seriously_ , no."

"Whatever you say." The receptionist said with a toothy grin. "We've got room six available." He said after scanning the bookings book.

"Thanks." He replied grimly.

They took their luggage down to their assigned room; Emma heard Dean whisper 'kinky' under his breath and shuddering slightly.

The room was small and made up of three, lumpy looking beds with thin blue sheets. The walls were painted a pasty yellow and had several pictures hanging up; one of them included Jesus on the cross. There was a small bathroom next to the door with a toilet, sink and shower. It overall looked like a tight squeeze being only about three metres in length and width.

She threw her bag on to the last bed that was next to a tiny square window and Sam followed by placing his possessions on the bed next to hers, leaving Dean with the one by the door. She wondered around the cramp room, it was freezing in there, with the electric heater not turned on and it being a cold Early-March night. She turned around to look at the two older guys, her eyes portraying her as slightly putdown at the shabby room. Compared to this, Bobby's was a five-star hotel, but then again it was only temporary and she wasn't expecting luxury. Hunting wasn't really a well-paid job and a demon hunting them down did have disadvantages. She supposed she would just have to put up with it.

"Hey it's not that bad." Dean said light-heartedly before some loud voices started yelling from next door. It was a woman and a man, their voices muffled but Emma could still discover that it was about 'money' and 'another girl'. "Okay, so it's kind of sucky." Dean admitted.

"Yeah, but it's only for a couple days, we'll be staying in another motel in no time at all," Sam tried to convince her.

"I suppose, maybe the next one will be nice." Emma agreed.

Dean laughed, as if what she had just said was funny in a way. Sam stepped on his foot and Dean stopped. "Yeah- yeah maybe it will." He smiled eagerly.

The yelling soon fell into quietness, Emma sighed in relief, maybe their quarrel was over and the rest of the night will be alright. She was wrong. In a matter of seconds, the noise of hatred and anger transitioned into creaking bed springs and grunting.

"Okay we are getting out of here!" Dean said quickly.

"Dinner?" Sam asked hopefully.

They agreed on it and almost rushed out of their new room. They went to a diner that was down the street from the motel, it was ten at night and the only lights guiding them their way were the street lamps and the headlights from cars zooming down the road.

The diner was warm and had a rich aroma of burgers and pizzas. They took a seat at a booth by one of the glass windows by the door; the seats were soft and coated in red leather. The diner was fairly empty with only a few other people in there. A woman came to greet them a few minutes later.

"Hi what can I get ya?" she asked.

"Bacon burger," Dean answered with a large grin.

"I'll have the chicken salad thank you." Sam smiled.

"I guess I'll have the margarita pizza." Emma replied.

The waitress took their menus and walked off.

"So, what now?" Emma asked the two brothers curiously.

"There have been a few murders in a science lab, all 'accidents'." Sam explained.

"But I'm guessing they weren't?" the red head asked.

"Exactly." Dean answered.

"And what about the whole demon thing?" she nervously questioned.

"Meanwhile we'll be researching how to hunt down and kill him."

"Sounds good to me." She smiled shyly. Dean's explanation may have been concerningly sinister but at the very least, it was something to do.


	18. School Sick?

They returned back to the motel an hour later, luckily the noises from next door had stopped and Emma finally started to hope that the rest of the night would be peaceful. She crawled into the cold, cheap sheets and tried to get comfortable on the hard mattress; it was going to be a difficult night. It felt like hours trying to get sleep to succumb her, she attempted to do the usual procedure to help her sleep, thinking of old memories until they slowly started to blend into dreams. It didn't work. She thought of memories of Alex, when they presented a history project together and it was the first time they got A-stars. She thought of the time pigeon shit fell right on top of her best friend's head in year nine and how her crush, who was a boy in the year above called Aaron, saw, making her mortified. Emma had to help her to the medical office, trying to cover Alex's head with her maths book and attempting not to laugh. She even went back through memory lane to the first time she met Alex, back when she had a horrible fringe and harshly chewed nails, they had a conflicting friendship, with Emma being obedient and quiet whilst Alexandra was brave and flamboyant. It's what made them so perfect for each other, when Emma was too shy to speak her opinion or stand up for herself, Alex was there to say what she was too scared to. It went the for Alex as well, when she showing her attitude too much, Emma was there to neutralise the whole situation by calming her down.

But far too soon, she'd run out of memories. She lay there on her side, begging sleep to overcome her. It felt like forever, even counting sheep didn't hold the key to unlock unconscious. Sleep was a priority- or a dream- for a long time on Emma's mind until the early morning the next day. She knew that there was no way she was going to get a decent night's sleep and she was tired of waiting for it. Carefully getting out of the bed, the springs creaking as they did, she slipped out of the motel room and onto the patio on the other side of their door.

Dean Winchester woke up a couple minutes later. Something didn't feel right. He always believed he had a sixth sense, being able to know when things weren't quite balanced. However, he quickly realised it wasn't a sixth sense at all but instead a cold draft coming through the door, which was ajar. Quickly getting the gun out from under his pillow, he looked around the dark room with the pistol ready to shoot anything that went bump in the night. He found no intruder in the motel room and Sammy was in his bed but Emma was not. Frowning, he quickly got up and left the room.

He saw Emma looking out to the half-empty parking lot that the neon blue motel sign shone on and bounced off the metal cars.

"The hell are you doing out here?" he asked, feeling relieved that nothing beyond the natural was occurring but grouchy at the same time as he was woken up for _nothing beyond the natural_.

"Oh, Dean," she sniffed as she turned around to face him in the dark, the older Winchester had given her a small shock but she felt guiltier for waking him, "Sorry, I couldn't sleep."

"Yeah, I guess the mattress wasn't soft enough for you, my highness." He joked.

She didn't reply but it only took Dean's ears to detect a small whimper then a sniff to see the tears in the dark night. "You alright?" the hunter asked with a frown. Did she not like his banter?

"Yeah, yeah fine," she said weakly, "I'm extremely sorry for waking you…you can go back inside- I'll be fine."

"Er- better not," he decided, looking back to the motel door and then back to her, "I mean, motels normally habitat old drunk losers and this is normally the time they like to smell the daisies." He chuckled.

"It is?" she said through a sob, looking around anxiously.

"Yeah…probably best if you come inside."

"I don't want to wake Sam up, I feel bad enough that I woke you up."

Dean hesitated, "Is something wrong?"

" _Everything_ is wrong." She cried.

"Oh o-okay." Dean said, quickly trying to find a response that didn't make him sound like an asshole.

"Is that a gun?" she asked in quick panic after seeing the metal glint in the dark.

"Yeah, don't worry, I weren't gonna shoot ya for waking me." He chuckled before sliding it in the back hem of his underwear. "Let's go inside, it's like fifty-degrees out here."

"I don't know Fahrenheit, Dean," she giggled softly before sniffing heavily, making her nose sore and her head feel heavy.

"Yeah, 'course, I forgot how fricken weird British people were." He admitted, making her laugh again, causing him to feel a spark of hope.

"I'm not cold- you should try going on a school trip to Ellon in Aberdeen- that's cold."

"Okay, I'll have to check my schedule." He chuckled. "Well, I'm cold but I don't wanna leave you alone out here so can we go inside-"

"But Sam-" she reminded him.

"Fine, fine," he sighed, "We'll go to Baby- just stay here 'til I get the keys, would ya?" he insisted before going inside to the motel room, where there was a peacefully sleeping Sam, grabbing the car keys that were laying on the table and going back outside.

He opened the front seat of the car before letting her get into the passenger seat and then getting into the driver's seat himself. "Where do you wanna go?"

"It's what- three in the morning?" she asked, shocked at the preposition.

"Some diners are open twenty-four seven." He informed her.

"You've only got a pair of boxers on and a t-shirt!" she said, feeling even more stunned.

"If anything, that's formal wear around here." He grinned.

"I don't want to go anywhere," she sniffed, "I've had enough travelling."

"Alright, then spit."

"What?"

"Why are you upset- was it something me or Sammy did?"

"No, no," she reassured him, "You and Sam have been more than kind to me."

"Then what is it?"

She sniffed whilst looking down in embarrassment before saying "I'm homesick- I mean- I'm not even that…I'm school-sick."

"Well, that is gross." Dean admitted.

"It's just that…school is the place I knew everything, everywhere, everyone and now I know nothing. It's like being in year seven again, when I was just sent off half-way across the country to stay away from home most of the year, surrounded by strangers and having the stress of making new friends whilst missing home terribly." She finished with a heavy sigh. "Pathetic, I know."

"No, it's not, Emma." He reassured her. "Of course you're going to be homesick."

"I thought I was okay, you know? I thought I got a hold of things, I had a routine, breakfast then lunch then dinner, hunting practice, reading, talking to you, Sam and Bobby. Everything was secure. But now…everything is changing and this demon thing is actually after me, I have to be aware all the time and for what reason? This demon means _nothing_ to me so why should I mean something to him?"

"We don't know, okay. Nine out of ten times, demons don't have motives- they're heartless bastards who possess people just to get a kick."

"No," she shook her head certainly, "He said he wanted 'revenge'."

"Yeah but to a demon, revenge is acceptable if you threw them one dirty look."

"I just want to be home, at school, and I want to forget that demons ever existed."

"Well, sorry princess but that ain't gonna happen." He told her roughly. "You're here so suck it up and deal with it."

"That's a bit unsentimental." She sniffed, feeling slightly taken aback.

"It's the first lesson of being a hunter. Life is hard and living it is harder."

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked him quietly.

Dean sighed before turning to face her. "Look, I know I'm comin' off a lil rough but that's just the way things are. I ain't gonna smile and lie to you, like Sammy would, but this isn't going to be easy, this road is definitely going to be speed bumps on it. I'm sorry, Emma, but that's just the way it is."

She nodded sadly, looking away from him and out of the car window to the outside world, which was dark and cold, before feeling a hot tear roll down her already damp cheek. She didn't know why this revelation by Dean made her begin to cry again, she guessed she always knew it, but she supposed that she'd never heard the possibility of her being in danger in such a blunt way before, Sam had always blanketed the truth by reassuring her that everything was going to be alright. "You were right, Dean." She admitted. "A couple weeks ago, when I yelled at you and you said that you didn't want to get close to me because I was going to die-"

"No, no I didn't say that." He intervened.

"But you implied it and you were right. I've been such an idiot to have not seen the most likely outcome of being chased by a demon."

"You're not going to die, Emma." He in firm confidence.

"But you said that it wasn't going to be easy-"

"Yeah but you're not dying. Sammy and me have lived this god damn awful, shitty life for years, which makes us experts in our field and I say that you ain't dying."

"You really mean that?" she asked him sceptically, "You're not just saying that to make me feel better?"

"I really mean it. Don't worry kiddo, you're gonna be soon quicker than you can say Wendigo…you're just gonna have to go through the darkness to get to the light."

She nodded before wiping her eyes, now feeling a little more relieved and a little less homesick. "I never realised how wise you were Dean."

The older hunter chuckled. "Believe me, wisdom is not one of my strong points."

"Can we go back inside?" she asked him hopefully.

He smiled before saying "course."

The two got out the car and walked back to their motel room. "Hey Dean?" Emma asked him a couple seconds later.

"Yeah?"

"What's a wendigo?"

Dean chuckled before putting his arm around her shoulder. "Oh sugar, you don't wanna know."


	19. Introducing: Emma Jackson

"Wake up sleepy head!" she heard Dean call out to her as she slowly began to wake up the following morning. Her eyes wanted to glue shut but she slowly forced them open.

The two brothers were already fully dressed. Sam was reading his laptop screen and scribbling down notes, Dean, on the other hand, was adjusting his tie and looking at the mirror on the hotel wall. He turned around to see Emma once he'd realised she was now up.

"We might have to get ya an alarm clock." He joked.

"I'm sure I'll get into routine soon enough." She said before yawning. "Besides I didn't have the best of nights, remember?"

"Oh yeah," he replied before going over to her and sitting on the edge of her bed, "How are you?"

"Better- I mean- not perfect but…better."

"Better's good." He nodded with a gentle smile. "You sure you're going to be okay?"

"Yeah, fine." She smiled widely in order to reassure him; she hated people worrying about her. "If I'm busy, I won't have time to think about it."

"That's the attitude!" he grinned, "Right I'm going to go brush my pearly whites; you pick out something fancy to wear."

Dean went to the bathroom and Emma slowly grabbed her luggage bag and looked through her options. She pulled out a navy-blue day dress that would come just above the knee. It was tight at the top, with bronze, antique-looking, buttons went down the middle to the waist line and the sleeves were see-through, and the skirt was skater. She decided to wear it with skin coloured tights and a pair of black boots.

She got up and went to the same mirror Dean was studying himself in a few moments earlier. She had a severe case of bed hair and her eyes and face looked tired and flawed without makeup. "Alright I'm never looking at my reflection in the morning again." She said aloud.

"Why?" Sam asked having heard Emma's thoughts.

"Because Emma without makeup is the most unattractive thing in the world,"

"You look fine." Sam reassured her. She turned around to look at him, raising an eyebrow. "If it'll help take your mind of it, I've got something to give you."

She went to sit on the chair next to him at the motel table, curious and a tad excited to see what he was going to present to her. Sam reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a black, leather wallet. Emma inquisitively went to pick it up from the table, she opened it and it revealed her image on a plastic card, which was slipped inside the top half of the wallet. It had a small photo of her on the right next to large bold text that red FBI. Below, in the bottom half of the wallet was a gold badge in the shape of the shield with an eagle resting on top of it.

"Wow." She said in awe.

"You are now an official fake FBI agent. It means you can come to the investigating part of the job and not just the hunting part."

"Won't I look too young to be an agent?"

"Maybe, but with the badge you'll be alright. All we need now is your fake name and signature, Dean and I were thinking Emma Jackson."

"Emma Jackson sounds good." Emma smiled, even though her last name would be lost, at least she got to keep her first. "What are yours?"

"Mine is Sam Jones and Dean has the name Dean Hammett, inspired by Kirk Hammett, who is the lead guitarist from Metallica. Sad, I know."

Emma laughed before taking the plastic card out from the wallet and, using the pen Sam was using to make notes, wrote 'Emma Jackson' on the dotted line next to the part that said: Special Agent.

"Are you ready to go on another hunt? Because you don't have to, Dean and I will understand if you don't want to face ghosts again. It will be perfectly fine." Sam said smiling gently.

"Thanks, but I think I'll come, if a demon is hunting me down, I want to stay proactive to keep my mind of it."

Sam chuckled before saying "Well, if that's what you want."


	20. The Case of the Poisoned Chemists

**We're at chapter 20 guys!**

 **Shout to Happygoddess2003 for leaving me some lovely reviews!**

 **Please leave me a review to tell me what you think so far!**

They left half an hour later. Emma was now dressed in her 'work' clothes, accompanying Sam and Dean in their suits. Her messy red hair was now combed and tied up in a tight bun and her face hidden behind makeup. She studied herself in the mirror, now more accepting of her reflection. She tried to see herself from a stranger's perspective, how old would she look in their eye, older than a seventeen-year-old school girl? She hoped she could pull it off; she didn't need the case being screwed up because of her.

They got to the Impala and made their way to the crime scene, which was a private science research university in the centre of Nashville. The only stop they took was to a diner to grab breakfast but after that it was a forty-five-minute trip to the university.

"Hello, I'm agent Hammett; these are my co-workers Jones and Jackson." Dean addressed, flashing his badge at a security guard at the door entrance to the work place. Sam also showed his FBI badge, he seemed to do it with little effort, one hand to flick the wallet open and then close it again before sliding it back in his pocket. Emma tried to copy him, she held up the wallet before trying to open it with one hand but it wouldn't, causing her to resort to both hands to peal the leather jacket back and show her ID. The brothers had obviously mastered their introduction; she wished she could be confident like them. They were lying, breaking the law, travelling with a missing person and their heartbeats didn't even rise. She tried not to look nervous, avoiding the security man's gaze and looking at the floor instead.

"You can go in." the security said in a voice even deeper than Castiel's before clearing the way. Dean and Sam made their way in and Emma trailed behind.

The door led into a massive hallway with a golden statue of an atom in the middle. She admitted it looked rather picturesque, the floor was a smooth, brown marble and the walls were painted light beige, there was a reception desk at sitting just in front the atomic structure sculpture. There were two corridors on either side of the room and a staircase leading up to three more corridors.

They made their way towards the reception desk and Emma listened to the heels on her shoes creating music on the hard floor. They reached the desk, a man was sitting behind it but he was busy talking on the phone. He hung up a few minutes later and turned his attention to the three of them.

Dean held up his badge, the reception studied it before nodding. "We've had a couple of those over the past weeks. I'm guessing you'll want to speak to the president of the university?"

"Yes, please." Sam said.

"He may be a bit busy but I could try to get you an appointment. He's been far too busy trying to keep the press of his back. Monsters, aren't they?"

"Oh, aren't they just." Dean said smoothly.

The receptionist picked up the phone and pressed one button before putting to it to his ear.

"Mr Montgomery?" he asked, which Emma predicted was the president of the university. "There are three agents here…yes they're here about the deaths…okay- I'll send them right up." he put down the phone.

"He has an appointment in half an hour but he could slot you in now. His office is on floor five."

"Thanks." Dean smoothly replied.

They made their way to the lift; it arrived a few seconds later. They all got in to the small, square room and Dean hit the top button that numbered five. Just as the doors were about to close, they heard a man shout "Hold it"!

"Let it close." Dean said tiredly.

Emma, knowing that she would feel guilty if she let the lift leave without the stranger, put her hand in front of the left metal door, causing them to open again. The man made it to the lift pressed the number two.

"Thanks." He said puffing for breath. "At my age, I thought I wouldn't be able to make it." He laughed, he had an aged face with greying hair; he looked around sixty. He was a skinny and tall, just a bit shorter than Sam. He was wearing a pair of glasses, which were now askew from his rushing; he was also wearing a baggy white shirt and a pair of black trousers that looked far too loose for him.

"We're glad we could hold it for you." Dean lied.

"I don't seem familiar with you two… I may not be good with faces but I have worked here a good old forty-two years, I do know most of my work colleagues."

"We're agents."

"Agents, oh goodness…about those poor souls? Believe me there have been some gruesome events that have happened over the years I've spent here but none as horrifying as that I dare say. I'm Frank Smith by the way."

Before the 'agents' got a chance to reply, the lift doors opened and Frank got out. "Nice meeting you agents." He smiled before the lift doors closed.

"He knows how to shut up." Dean grumbled sarcastically.

They left the lift at the fifth floor, there was only one office up there and had a gold plate on the door with 'President of Nashville Private Research University' engraved into it with the name 'Charles Montgomery' under it.

Dean knocked on the door and a man answered, he was wearing a brown swede jacket and a pair of brown trousers, he had a navy-blue bow tie on his white shirt. He had hazelnut coloured hair that lay flat on his head and a light stubble. Emma predicted he was around forty, still looking quite young but he had light wrinkles appearing on his face and flecks of grey in his hair.

"Agents." He smiled.

They all showed their badges once more and he let them into his office. His study was around the same size as the entrance with several bookcases pushed against the wall and a large conference table in the middle. He led them to his massive desk in front of a window, which covered the whole back wall and showed a view of the town and nature scenery. He sat in a throne-like chair and they sat opposite him.

"I do not see why they have sent more inspectors to visit me… I have given all the information I possibly can to the police."

"We were instructed to come here so we did." Dean smiled.

"Goodness," Mr Montgomery said lightly after looking at Emma. "How young do they enrol new agents these days?"

"Well agent Jackson is a very exceptional case; she was the best in her class." Dean grinned.

Emma nodded, trying not to smile at the compliment, even though it wasn't a real one.

"We wanted to ask the context of these workers." Sam explained. "It will help with connecting the dots together."

"Well they all started in 1968, Jedd Gardner, James Brennen and Daniel Murphy. They were exceptional workers, best in their field. It's a shame. I never saw personal relations between any of them in particular; they always worked on different projects. It's hard to say what linked them all except they were all in their sixties."

"And there aren't any suspects in the case?" Emma asked.

"One, the janitor, Joey Salt, he was there at the time of the murders but there was lack of evidence to support the idea of him committing the crimes."

"Is he present at the work place?"

"He should be working a day shift today."

"Great, thank you for your time Mr Montgomery, we'll be in touch." Dean said before standing up, Sam and Emma followed and Charles let them out of the room.

X

"Oh God, he knew I wasn't a real agent." Emma said in panic after they got back into the lift.

"Don't worry you did great in there." Sam replied, pressing the basement button, which he predicted to be the place where they'd find Mr Salt.

"Really because he looked at me as if I were a child." She said as she leant back against the elevator wall.

"We've been there." Dean admitted. "First couple of years when Sammy and I were hunting without pops; we used to get the same looks."

"Part of the reason why was probably because you called me 'Sammy'." Sam said in annoyance.

"Point is, as long as you act like you're an agent, they'll buy it. Most feds don't even care about checking badges properly."

"How do you act so naturally though?" Emma curiously asked.

"By years of practice and having a dad who did it for a living too."

The lift reached rock bottom, that was the basement, and the doors slid open to a large, dimly-lit corridor. They walked down until they reached a locker room. A young man was doing up the buttons on his blue overalls. He had black floppy hair with a middle parting; he was skinny and quite muscular with light stubble. He turned his head sharply when he realised he was no longer alone.

"You're not supposed to be here." He said nervously.

"Salt?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, I'm Joey Salt." He quickly replied, nodding.

"FBI." Sam explained, holding up his badge. Emma repeated the procession, she was starting to get a bit sick of this.

"Lemme see that." Joey said, rushing over and grabbing Sam's badge. "These are real, aren't they?"

"Why wouldn't they be?"

"People have been askin' me a lot of stuff recently, the police." Joey said, handing the badge back to Sam. "But the press has been trying to get stuff out of me. Think I'm a murderer. You- you don't think I'm a murderer do ya? Cos I'm a Christian, I'd never commit a sin-"

"Calm down." Emma said gently.

"We don't think anything of you yet." Dean told Salt. "We just need to ask you some routine questions."

"Oh- okay." Joey Salt said before sitting down on a bench by the lockers. The three agents stood opposite him.

"You told the feds that you were present when all of the murders happened."

"Yeah, well, I was working; they were all murdered when I was doing my shifts. It wasn't my fault."

"Did you see any of the murders?"

"No, I heard the second guy scream and say some funny stuff."

"What-What funny stuff?"

"I don't know. He was pretty far off, couple of corridors away, but I could hear- my mom always told me I had good hearing you see- he said something like 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean it'."

"Have you told any of the other cops this?"

"Yeah, but they said it was physiological behaviour, folks like to try and say sorry to God before they go."

"And there wasn't anything else that seemed suspicious to you?"

"No, but I think I could sense it coming."

"How so?" Sam questioned. Joey leaned forwards on the bench as if he were going to unleash a terrible secret upon them.

"Every time someone died, I would get the shivers. Maybe I have secret powers or something."

Sam and Dean glanced at each other before they both sighed. They knew what creature was to be hunted here.

"I wouldn't go telling that to everyone pal." Dean warned. "Makes you seem crazy."

"I'm not crazy." He defended.

"Okay, well, I think we're done here."

They made their way to the lift again; Dean pressed the button that would take them up to the ground floor.

"What now?" Emma asked.

"We go the death scenes." Dean replied.

The doors opened and they went back to the receptionist.

"Hello again."

"Hi, can you kindly point us in the direction of Jedd Gardner's workplace?" Sam asked.

"It's on floor three, walk on the second corridor on the left and it should be the third lab down." The receptionist said, after looking it up on the computer. "In case you're wondering, all three of the deceased were chemists."

"Oh really?" Dean said in interest. "Thanks for saying."

They followed the receptionist's instructions and made their way to the third floor. They walked into the lab that Jedd Gardner worked in. There were several people in there, some at computers and some working at benches that were covered in test tubes and different chemical substances.

"Woah, woah, woah!" A man shouted as soon as he saw them enter. "You need to wear safety goggles, gloves and a lab coat while in here. It's not safe!"

A few of his work colleagues went to get the uniform and gave each of the agents the specialised pieces of clothing. They quickly put them on.

"Okay, good." The man said in relief. "Who are you?"

"FBI, I'm agent Hammett, and these are my colleagues Jones and Jackson." Dean explained. They all did the badge routine again.

"Is this about Jedd?"

"Yeah."

"I thought so." he said before leading them over to a work bench.

"Hey look, I'm a geek!" Dean joked to Sam, pointing at his glasses, who in return shook his head at his older, idiotic brother.

"This was Jedd's work place." The chemist explained. "I'm Miles by the way."

"So what was Jedd working on here Miles?" Sam asked.

"We were all working on a new drug; we were trying to improve the _Lomotil_ pill."

"The what pill?" Emma asked innocently.

"The-the drug for diarrhoea?" Dean asked uncomfortably.

"That's the one. We wanted to improve it to prevent some of the symptoms like vomiting."

"And how did Mr Gardner die?"

"It's really weird actually. Someone injected him with magnesium; it was a chemical in the drug that was easily accessible seeing as we have a whole jar of it in this very room. It's toxic and if too much is given, it can kill you. It was a shame because Jedd was a really good friend with all of us! He was the eldest and was always the funny one. It's horrible to go like that, be murdered by your work."

"It's a shame." Sam nodded. "Would you mind pointing us in the direction of James Brennen and Daniel Murphy's labs?"

"Brennen…the next lab and Murphy's one is if you walk down the next corridor on the right and it's the second lab."

"Thanks, and thank you for your time."

They gave their borrowed uniform back before leaving the lab. They next went James Brennen, they opened the door where they found three chemists working at their computers.

"FBI." Dean said as he entered, holding up his badge and Sam and Emma followed.

"Is this about James?"

"Yes, would you mind telling us the details of his death?"

"He was injected with mercury."

"Injected again?" Emma asked the chemist looked at her in confusion to her comment.

"She's new." Dean chuckled awkwardly.

"Well they found about three empty syringes with mercury traces in them next to his body."

"And it wasn't possible he did it himself?"

"The experts say that the positioning wasn't right so someone else did it. He wasn't murdered."

"And how was James as a person?"

"Kind, always got on with his work, didn't speak much."

"Okay, thank you for your information." Sam smiled kindly before they left.

"Last stop." Dean said as they walked to Daniel Murphy's lab.

As they turned the corner, a man almost ran into Emma.

"Oh sorry!" the man apologized. "Oh, it's you again, hello." The three realised it was Frank, the man who was in the lift with them about half an hour ago. "Are you still investigating?"

"Yes, almost done now." Sam answered.

"Ah, you're lucky, I have to work after hours tonight, as the leader of the project, it comes with some painfully annoying responsibilities."

"I know the feeling."

"Well I won't get in your way." Frank smiled before starting to continue walking.

"Wait." Emma said quickly, making Frank stop and turn around once more. "You said you knew everyone, did you know the deceased?"

"No." he said quickly. "Well I knew them but I really spoke to them."

"Really? You work in the same department, they were about the same age, I'm sure you had loads to talk about."

"Maybe but unfortunately I never got the chance to." He said. "I've got to go now." He hurried off down the corridor.

"Well that was shifty." Dean admitted.

"Never mind about that now, let's go to the last place so we can get out of here," Sam said tiredly.

"Okay boss." Dean replied before they all continued their journey to Murphy's lab.

Sam knocked on the door to Daniel's lab. A man answered wearing goggles, a mouth mask and a lab coat.

"FBI." Sam explained, they all held up their badges, hopefully for the last time.

"One minute." The man said, voice muffled through the mouth mask. "Don't come in yet." He closed the door.

"Well, that's friendly of him." Dean joked.

The door opened again and the man handed a mouth mask and a pair of goggles to each of them. They put the accessories on and the man let them in.

"Sorry, the air isn't exactly breathable right now. You can probably guess why."

"Please explain." Sam asked curiously.

"You're here because of Daniel Murphy, right?"

"Yeah."

"Guy was poisoned by chlorine gas. Some maniac murdered him. Still traces of gas in the air, almost all gone now but we have to wear these for safety for the next couple day."

"I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be that mother fucker Joey Salt, he was always sketchy." Another chemist said.

"How do you know it wasn't Daniel that did it?"

"The guy had Franklin's disease, he was diagnosed with it a few months ago, could barely open a bottle, never mind make a reaction. Someone else did it. The room was locked; Murphy only went in there to collect the things from his desk and then some sick bastard locked the door and poisoned him."

"It was sad." The other chemist added. "He was retiring early; he couldn't work now that he couldn't take parts in experiments."

"He didn't deserve it." A third chemist joined. "He was a good guy; he was like a dad to all of us. I'm gonna miss him."

"I think we have all the information we need, thank you." Sam said before they left.

X

"They were all poisoned." Emma said on the way out as they went to the car.

"Well that's one connection." Sam admitted.

"But why, the ghost could kill them easily without the poison, why the effort?"

"Some ghosts like to…let's put this as 'play with their food'." Dean explained.

"Their insanity has warped them, they have sick, perverted fantasies," Sam continued. "And then they like to take them into action."

"We're looking at some pure ghost entertainment here." The older brother joked.

"And I'm guessing all of the victims are related in some way?" the redhead predicted.

"That's the idea. A ghost normally doesn't kill with the same method just for kicks. I bet all three of these guys aren't as 'Gandhi' like as their colleagues described them as. They definitely had some dirt under the soles of their feet, we just have to find it."


	21. Shotgun

**Hey guys, this is the penultimate update for the week of chapters. I hope you're enjoying it so far! I would've love to upload another chapter on Saturday and Sunday but I'm going camping this weekend (in cold wet English weather…yaaay).**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoy and review if you did or follow or favourite!**

They reached the motel again.

"I'm gonna get some cheesy fries, want anything Emma, Salad Boy?" Dean questioned as he went and picked up his wallet from the table.

"No thanks." The two replied.

"See ya when I'm fat." The brother joked before leaving the motel room again.

"What are you going to do now?" Emma asked the remaining brother.

"Work." Sam answered, pulling his laptop out of his bag and sitting down at the motel table.

"Can I join?" she asked casually, knowing that she had literally nothing else to do.

"Sure." Sam answered. Emma pulled out a chair next to the hunter and accompanying him at the desk. "I warn you it's probably going to be a bit boring."

"Yeah well it's probably more interesting in staring at the ceiling." She admitted. "So, what are you going to research?"

"I'm going to search up the news articles of all the deaths that have happened at the university."

"And one of those will be the ghost?"

"Most likely." The long-haired man answered before typing 'private university of Nashville deaths' into the search engine. The top result was the death of Daniel Murphy, a news article published twelve hours ago. The next few results were about James Brennen and Jedd Gardner and how the university was under attack from the 'chemist-killer'.

"They gave the ghost a nickname, that's nice of them." Emma commented sarcastically.

"I don't think they date any of the previous murders meaning that it probably happened before the internet was invented."

"So, what do we do now?"

"We have to go in the old-fashioned way, into the Nashville police department."

"Y-You mean the actual police department, the guys that will be able to tell that I'm way too young to be an agent and that our badges are completely fake?"

"Don't worry, our badges were made by professional liars and they'll believe you if you're with me, okay?"

Emma hesitated before replying. "O-Okay, I trust you." She finalised nervously. "Do we call Dean?"

"No, we don't want to distract him from his food." Sam decided, knowing that Dean would rather drown in bacon fat than do the brain work.

They left the room they had only just came back to and headed out into the cold air. Even though she had agreed to go, Emma was still pretty terrified at the idea of lying to the followers of law. She knew that she could have just stayed behind but she felt like she had to get over all of her fears to become a hunter, plus she didn't want to let Sam and down. This time last month, or this time five years ago, she wouldn't have even dared to attempt seeing an eighteen-rated movie when she was underage. And now she was about to lie about her age, her name, her whole identity to the people whose job it was to stop law breakers.

Seeing as the diner was only down the road, Dean had left the Impala parked outside the motel. Sam got out his spare set of keys and went to open the Chevy car door.

"Wanna ride shotgun?" he asked the redhead.

"Really?" she grinned.

"Yeah, seeing as there's only two of us."

"Thanks." The girl smiled before opening the door and sitting on the chair that was usually reserved for the younger brother.

They began their journey to the police station. Although this opportunity was quite a minor one, Emma found it fascinatingly exciting. Even though she had been in this car for hours on end for days, this was her first time ever sitting in the front. She never had the best positions sitting in cars on car journeys, sitting in the middle on family car treks, sitting alone in the back of the Impala and even on school trips, she'd let Alex sit by the window. It may not be of any significance to most people but to her sitting in the front made her feel like she was someone of importance, like she was worth something to someone. She smiled gently as she looked out of the car window; at least shotgun got rid of some of her nerves for the police station.

X

"Chief," Sam addressed the policeman who came to see them as soon as they walked into the police station. "I'm agent Jones and this is my colleague agent Jackson." They both held up their badges.

"Let me see hers." The chief said taking her badge, he was a man that looked around forty; he had quite a stout body and greying, short hair with a thick black moustache. He studied her ID closely, she tried to keep calm and tried to look as confidence as Sam did.

He handed it back to her a few moments later. "Sorry, you just looked a bit too young to have this position."

"She's new; I'm just showing her the ropes for this case." Sam explained with a broad smile.

"Ah, and what case are you working on exactly?"

"The murders from the private university downtown sir," the male 'FBI agent' explained.

"Such a tragedy." The police officer sighed. "I knew James, he the husband to my sister's best friends. "He was a good guy."

"Can you please show us the report files on all of the people that have died in the university to date?"

"I'll see what I can dish out." He nodded. "Fredrickson!" he barked.

A younger man looked up from his desk, he quickly rushed to them. "Yes Chief?!"

"Take these two agents to the file room."

"Yes Chief." He said.

The man named 'Fredrickson' began leading them to the back of the building. Emma saw many of the cop crew looking at her, she tried to look like she belonged here and wasn't just a seventeen year old pretending to be a twenty-three-year-old agent.

Fredrickson took them into a room at the end of the building; it led them into a slightly smaller, but still relatively big, room. It was packed with hundreds of file cabinets, covering every part of the walls, the only thing assisting the files in the room were a desk and chair. The man took out a large set of keys that held the unlocking to all of the files in the room.

"What are you looking for?" he asked.

"Death reports from everyone that has died at the private university of Nashville."

"Interesting." He nodded. " _Where would that be_?" Fredrickson asked quietly to himself, frowning deep in thought. His facial expression relaxed a few seconds later and he rushed over to a file cabinet on the back wall. He went through each of the keys before stopping at one and inserting it into the lock of the top drawer.

"So how old are you?" he directed at Emma as he was flicking through the files.

"Oh, um, twenty-three." The redhead lied; although this would've been her age this year, if she hadn't had time travelled.

"So am I!" he said happily. "But, I must ask, how did you get to be an agent, I thought they were meant for hard, tough people."

"She was the best in her class." Sam made up. "The boss thought it would be a stupid idea not to enrol her."

"Oh, so are you two together?"

"No, no." Sam laughed. "I was just stating a fact. Jackson here is the best in her league." He grinned.

"Thank you, agent Jones," Emma played along.

"So, are you single?" He asked trying to sound casual.

"I…er-" she started, the man was fairly good looking but she hoped he wasn't trying to flirt.

"Let's get back to the files, shall we?" Sam saved her.

"Y-Yeah." Fredrickson nodded. "Okay…um…here we go." He pulled out a thick file and put it down on the desk. "I'll need to stand watch outside the room but I'll leave you too it." He got up and leaving the room.

The two agents sat down at the desk with the file below them. Emma looked at Sam, who cracked a smile, and found herself grinning as well.

"Don't say anything." She laughed.

"I wasn't going to…but just wondering, when is yours and Fredrickson's first date." Sam giggled like a child.

"Shut up." she said in embarrassment. "I felt so bad; I kind of just wanted to tell him I was really seventeen so at least he wouldn't feel uncomfortable."

"Don't worry; I'm sure he won't be the first guy you turn down."

"Can we carry on with the case?" she asked hopefully.

"Sure." He granted. He went and flicked open the heavy file; inside settled a number of pages. Sam started flicking through them. Emma tried to study the death reports but Sam changed the page in a matter of seconds.

"So how do you know if they're important or not?" Emma asked curiously, after wondering if her companion was even reading the reports. Sam stopped flicking through and turned to her to explain.

"All three men were chemists and were killed by methods to do with chemistry, therefore our ghost probably used to work in that profession. They were also probably murdered in the building, meaning deaths caused by suicides or natural ways won't be viable suspects."

"So, we're looking for a murdered chemist?"

"Yep." The man answered before going back to scan the remaining murder files.

A few moments later Sam stopped at a murder report and studied it with a greater interest. After noticing that this report was of greater importance, Emma joined the older hunter in reading it. She learned:

 _Name: Howard Mitchell_

 _Age: 21_

 _Occupation: Medicinal Chemist_

 _Crime Incident: Accidental suicide_

 _How attack was committed: Deceased consumed unclassified drugs, caused severe allergic reaction. Swelling of glands caused blocked airways making person of interest unable to breathe, causing suffocation._

 _Date of death: March 3_ _rd_ _1969_

 _Time of death: 9:00-11:00pm_

 _Suspects: None_

"But they weren't murdered?" Emma asked curiously.

"It says that but it has the most common interests. A chemist who died by a drug-"

"And died around the same time all the chemists died," Emma ended his sentence.

"Nice observation." Sam grinned. "So, we can infer that Mr Howard Mitchell's 'suicide' involved the three recently murdered scientists.

"So, what now?"

"We go and speak to Howard's relations, see if we can dig up any personal information about him."

X

After finding out that Mr Mitchell had a mother that lived uptown from the deputy's help, they went back to the Impala and made their way on an hour journey to the relative's house.

"So, we're just going to randomly show up at this poor woman's house and ask her if she knows if her dead son is a ghost who is murdering people?" Emma asked

"We're not going to mention her son's ghost features but we are going to ask her if she knows anything extra about Howard Mitchell's death." Sam explained while driving the car.

"And don't you think bringing up her son will maybe bring up unpleasant memories?"

"It happened decades ago, she would have moved on by now. Everyone can get over death after time." Sam said grimly.

"Some people can't." she said feebly before looking out of the window and watching the moving surroundings.

X

They reached the building that supposedly belonged to Howard's mother; it looked pretty run down, seeing as the walls were grimy and decorated with graffiti. The crimson red paint from the door was peeling off, the golden number three door number was askew by about forty-five degrees and- worst of all- a dead raccoon was decaying on the front porch.

"Does anyone live here?" Emma asked curiously, half convinced that this was an abandoned house, seeing as it was an accommodation which would make her mother feel a tad faint.

"The light is on in that room." Sam observed, pointing to the left window on the ground floor.

They walked towards the entrance of the broken looking house. Sam knocked on the rusty knocker, which made a dull thud against the door surface. It took a few moments for a reply to arrive but they heard someone undo the locks behind the thick plank of wood. A woman was standing by the door, a face sketched in wrinkled and dyed red hair that had grey-silver hiding in it.

"Hello," Sam introduced. "We're-"

"I don't care if you want to sell me something or it's charity work-"

"No, no," Sam stopped her, pulling out his badge; Emma copied him with the procession for the hundredth time that day alone. "I'm agent Jones, this is agent Jackson… can we come in?"

"Why are you here?"

"Your son-"

"Why?"

"Some of the files down at the police station have gone missing and we need to regain the information."

"My son is dead and has been with God for a long time now, why should you care about how he died?"

"Please, it's just routine check-up, you can turn us away now but there will be another couple of agents that will come in the next two days if you don't."

Mrs Mitchell sighed heavily in frustration before looking Sam hard in the eye. "Five minutes and then I want you off my property."

"Thank you." Sam smiled kindly. She cleared the doorway and they made their way into the shack. It was hard to walk into the living room as the house was packed of clutter, there was mould caking the walls and a peculiar smell that had an aroma of cigarette smoke and a strong, cheap perfume that hung in the air like a deadly poisonous gas. They eventually made it to the living room and she guided them to a lumpy sofa that was covered in old newspapers and dirty cups and plates. After Mrs Mitchell made it clear that she wouldn't clear space for them on the sofa, Sam moved the objects on the couch, with a disgruntled expression, and he and Emma sat down. Instead of joining them, the mother of the deceased stood in front of them, towering over the two 'agents' almost as if she was the interrogator.

"So, your son was Howard Mitchell, is that correct?" Sam asked, pulling out his notebook.

"Yeah, it's why we share the same surname." She replied bluntly.

"We could get through this a lot more easily, if you just let us ask the questions and you answer them without any additional comments." Sam suggested.

"You ruined my day; I'll answer them how I like."

"Okay." Sam said in annoyance, sharing a this-is-going-to-be-difficult look with Emma. "He died when he was?"

"March 3rd, 1969, he was twenty-one, a bit older than you by the looks of it." She said slyly towards Emma, who felt her cheeks going red.

"And how did he die?"

"Suicide, silly bastard, leaving his mother alone with nothing,"

"I'm sure he had his reasons-"

"He was supposed to become a noble prize-winning scientist, whole life without money, spending it all on fucking school and university fees and all of it was for nothing. He was the first good Mitchell, the first one that was going to get somewhere, sure he may have been bullied at school and never really fit in but he was the smartest little boy in the world."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Sam said in a grave tone.

"Life screwed me over." The woman admitted. "Fourteen and pregnant, could have had an abortion, save the suffering if it hadn't been illegal."

"Isn't it better he was alive for twenty years rather than none at all?" Emma questioned.

"All he was to me was a waste of money."

"Do you know if there was anyone who might have had a disliking towards your son, anyone that may have triggered his suicide in anyway?"

"My son wasn't liked but no one hated him, he was just invisible in the world."

"And did he have any friends…or people that noticed him at all?" Sam asked curiously.

"I have some pictures, Howard liked photography, he had a few photos that were with other people at his work."

"Could you show us some of them?"

"Why, this doesn't have anything to do with his suicide?"

"We…we wanted to see if we could go and see any other people that knew Howard."

Mrs Mitchell looked at the pair of them suspiciously before saying "Fine, but after you've looked, you're leaving." She got up and left the room.

"Nice woman." Emma said with a shiver, she almost felt sorry for this Howard boy, having to live with a lady, who probably told him how she would have aborted him if she could, every day of his life.

"I've met worse." Sam admitted.

"Do you think Howard could be the ghost?"

"Hard to say, he could just be a poor kid who committed suicide but he is the most likely suspect."

Ms Mitchell came down the stairs a few minutes later; she had a small pile of grainy black and white photos. She handed them to Sam and he started flicking through them. All of the pictures had the same scrawny boy present in them, a young man with glasses and a bowl-shaped haircut, who was normally wearing old fashioned clothes even for that era.

"I think he got on alright at that university, he only got to work on one project…that's it that one there." she pointed at the photo that Sam had just reached.

The two agents quickly looked at each other after looking at photo in Sam's hands. The photo depicted Howard standing next to four men in a science lab; their faces were extremely recognizable to the two hunters. Even though they were younger in the picture and their features grainy from the bad quality, the four other men were: Jedd Gardner, James Brennen and Daniel Murphy and on the very end, the man caused Emma and Sam's mouths to open, was Frank Smith.

 **Recap: Frank Smith was the guy in the elevator from last chapter. If you were thinking he was acting suspicious, you're most probably right ; )**

 **The next chapter will be the actual hunt so return to find out what happens!**


	22. What Happened that Night?

"Frank?" Dean asked back at the Motel when the two others told him the unexpected news. "Frank? Elevator Frank, the I-never-knew-victims' Frank…that Frank?"

"Yeah, seems like the bastard lied to us." Sam said.

"Well what now?" Emma asked, it was six o'clock and it was already dark outside.

"Dinner." Dean answered straightforwardly.

"Really, we just found an important key to the case and you want dinner?"

"Man's gotta eat." He shrugged simply.

X

They decided to go for dinner at the diner down the road again, and by the time they got their meal it was eight. Although the redhead and the older brother seemed to be indulged by their meals, Sam played around with his chicken Caesar salad with his fork, looking like he was in a deep train of thought.

"What's up Sammy?" his brother asked after seeing the younger man's expression. "Have you suddenly realized that your meal options are fricken boring?"

"Frank Smith, Jedd Gardner, James Brennen, Daniel Murphy, they were all nice guys-"

"Well they were probably just covering up their dirty little secret."

"But why? The evidence was in that he committed suicide, they didn't have to act so innocent for the rest of their lives."

"Well, I'll guess we can find out from Mr-Innocent-Frank-Smith tomorrow."

"Wait." Emma said quickly, her eyes widening in shock at the thing she had just remembered. "Frank…earlier he said he was working late tonight."

"Oh crap." Sam cursed in realisation.

"I'm guessing that Howard Mitchell has some deep dark murder plans for tonight huh?" Dean predicted.

X

They rushed to the Impala, if their theories on Howard Mitchell were correct, Frank would be the next victim the ghost would be after.

An hour later, they reached their destination at the university they had visited already that day. The only thing, apart from the car headlights, a few lights beaming through a few of the windows was the only light source available. However, after Dean flicked on a flashlight, the problem was solved. They all got out of the car; Sam went to the boot and pulled out any essentials, that being guns loaded with rock salt bullets, iron bars and a bag full of salt. He passed the hunting equipment around to his two other companions and they started their way to try and get in the university.

"Wait." Dean said, stopping them as he saw two people in green high visible jackets. "Think we've got ourselves a little problemo."

"Who are they…police?" Emma asked.

"Would make sense, they're probably looking for a murderer." Sam added.

"I've got this." The eldest hunter said confidently. He began his journey to the two-people standing by the university door.

"Who are you?" one of the two people asked, a woman with short blonde hair.

"I'm agent Hammett, these are my partners Jones and Jackson." He said, holding up his badge quickly, along with the other two agents.

"Let me see those." The blonde woman's male partner instructed. He took all of their ID badges and shone his torch on them; he handed the leather wallets back several moments later after a concentrated study. "Why are you here?"

"Were you not aware of the change of procedure for tonight?" Sam asked in fake curiosity.

"What change?" the woman police officer asked inquisitively.

"Our boss, agent Singer, has let us take charge of watch tonight." Dean explained.

"Why?"

"They thought that more…professional cops should take over."

"We're perfectly-"

"Hey, we'd rather be at home with our feet up…but boss' orders. You should feel lucky that you get to go and relax tonight but if you want to protest you can call our boss, his number is 323-"

"No, no it's fine, we're leaving." The male said.

"You'll need these." The woman said, handing them a plastic card that said 'guest pass' on it.

"Thanks." Dean grinned. The two officers slowly descended, a few moments later Dean inserted the guest pass into the lock and the door opened.

They walked into the empty reception, which conflicted with how busy it had been a matter of hours before. The lights were still on and it looked like they were on in all the corridors as well. It reassured Emma to see that, so far, none of the lights were flickering.

"Franky, Franky, Franky!" Dean cooed. "Where are you?"

X

Frank Smith was working on a project that he had in charge of for three years now; he and his team had been discovering a new drug, one that would lower stress levels by 25%. God knows he needed that right now; something weird had been going on the last few weeks. Memories that hadn't plagued his brain for years now possessed his mind, the guilt rising up in him like hot vomit. He was writing up a weekly report for the boss about their improvements from the last seven days, why was he made to do this in his old age? He scratched his head lightly with his fingers, trying to come up with a way to write that made him sound like he was actually half-arsed about this report. As soon as the blasted drug was invented, he was retiring.

Something distracted him, a flickering in the corner of his eye; he looked up to see that the lightbulb was probably going to blow soon by the flashes it was giving out. He suddenly shivered as the room temperature dropped by ten degrees, the janitor seriously needed to fix this building.

SMASH. Frank jumped as he heard a glass break on the floor behind him, he'd span around on his chair to see what had just happened. A glass bottle of bromine had just shattered, the brown liquid leaking on the floor, giving off a chemical aroma, making Frank light headed. What the hell had just happened? SMASH: a solution of potassium hydroxide. SMASH: a pot of silver nitrate. One by one the glass containers were dropping from the shelves and the work benches. Frank backed up against the wall, his feet frozen to the floor, too scared to move or even think.

He saw something out of the corner of his eye, like a glint of a white figure dashing across the room. He blinked several times excessively; it was just a trick of the light…the flickering light…of course. He was too over-worked, stressed; his age was getting to him. The room seemed to be getting colder, his shivering became more violent and he even started seeing the water vapour come out his mouth when he exhaled.

Suddenly, faster than light itself, a vial flew right past his head, smashing on the wall behind him. He jumped, something weird was going on here. He tried to run but before he could even lift his legs, he was pushed into the back wall. The figure he saw earlier turned visible. A pale, defined body appeared in the room. It was a man-a boy-with a black bowl-shaped haircut wearing square-rimmed glasses, a white, baggy shirt, some navy-blue trousers and a purple bow-tie.

"How-Howard?" Frank stuttered. He was imagining it, he had to be. This man, he was dead, he had been for years. he felt his own heart thumping heavily against his chest, he had nightmares about this man every night since Jedd was murdered. He closed his eyes firmly shut and opened them again. The pale boy was still there. He had a sly grin on his face and was standing a few metres away by the work bench.

"You look terrible Frank." The boy stated to the older man with a grin placed on his face. "Maybe it's the old age. You know, the old age I never got to experience."

"You're not real." The old chemist whispered. "You're my imagination."

"Oh, I'm real. I've been here, watching you for the last forty years, you have barely even mentioned my name."

"I'm sorry, Howard, I never-"

"You're sorry…funny. You've never said that, before, funny how you decide to say it just because your life is in danger. You're not sorry, you never were…none of you were."

"You murdered them?"

"You murdered me! Do you know what you've done? You've condemned me to a life this fricken university. You know how hard it was to not rip your heads off every day I've spent here…but then I thought to myself…why should you live and not me? I've been planning this moment for ten years and now I'm finally ready, you're the last key to unlock my justice." Howard explained. He went to the work bench and grabbed the solution of the drug Frank was creating. He poured it on a piece of cloth and slowly moved towards the older man. "How ironic this is going to be…killed by your own creation."

"Please, don't-"Frank started before Howard sped quickly towards him in the blink of an eye and covered his mouth with the cloth.

Frank began to choke as he breathed in the heavy chemicals, feet and arms struggling against the ghost's force, trying to get free. But he couldn't. He felt his vision start to blur and his limbs starting to go weak like he was about to fall asleep.

BANG.

Frank suddenly felt the force leave him and he fell to the floor. He breathed in the sweet, fresh oxygen, slowly started to regain his senses. He looked around for Howard but he couldn't see the pale boy that had been dead for years. Instead he saw three other people, whose skin was full of colour and life. One, a tall man with brown hair was pouring a circle of salt in the empty area at the back of the room, the second, another man with sandy coloured hair aiming a gun and looking for anything suspicious that moved, the third was a girl with red hair who quickly came to his assistance, grabbing his arm and pulling him up. She dragged his body over to the circle of salt; the two other men quickly joined them inside.

"Wait, I recognize you." Frank said. "You're those agents."

"Yeah…about that." The sandy haired man said.

"We know you murdered Howard Mitchell…or had something to do with it." Sam explained.

"So, you're here to arrest me?"

"We have some questions." Emma informed him.

"Spill the beans pal." Dean said smoothly.

"Alright…alright…I'll tell you." Frank gave in. He opened his mouth to explain the story he had never told anyone before, not even himself.

X

 _Fifty years earlier:_

"We finally did it you fucking bastards, we did it!" Jedd cackled. He cracked open a bottle of champagne and the cork burst off with a pop, spilling the alcohol's foam over the top; he quickly grabbed a glass and filled it right up to the rim with the sweet alcoholic beverage before handing it to his work colleague and friend James Brennen. He continued pouring out the champagne into three other glasses, handing it to the four other celebrators.

It was 1969 and the project that the five scientists had been working on for the last year was finally done, they had been discovering a new drug that had successfully been able to help with extreme migraines. It had been one hell of a year but it was worth it, they had all become close friends and they all knew their relationships with one another would last for a long time.

Howard looked around at all of the young men drinking their champagne and dancing to the music that was blurting out from the radio. He couldn't help but smile, maybe, _maybe_ he was starting to finally fit in. All those years of being called 'four-eyes' and 'nerd' were now over; he could start being accepted for who he truly was. These people- his friends- were like him. They have been better looking and taller than him, but they were the only people who truly understood him.

"Guess what I have?" James said sneakily before pulling out a bottle of vodka from his bag and several shot glasses.

"You ditz, how the hell did you afford that?" Daniel hooted.

"Stole it from my father's liquor cabinet, who's ready to get blitzed?"

"Ah gentlemen, tonight we celebrate like true men. Maybe afterwards we can go grab some chicks, we heroes now, they'll love us!" Jedd said excitedly, grabbing the shot glasses and pouring vodka into five of them. "Maybe they'll even love dorks like you Howard!"

Howard laughed along at the mean comment, seeing as he knew that Jedd wasn't being rude and was trying to make him feel better.

"Bottoms up!" Frank said, taking his shot glass and downing it. All of the three other men followed but Howard didn't take his shot glass.

"I think I won't...my mom-"

"Oh stop being such a momma's boy!" Jedd shouted, handing him his shot glass, and pouring himself another shot. "Do you want to be a true man or do you want to be a little boy?"

"I'm a man!" Howard said quickly, downing the alcohol, forcing the sharp, horrible tasting liquid down his throat. Maybe Jedd was right, he was young and he did want a girlfriend or to lose his virginity at the least, maybe drinking more will make that possible.

The group of men continued drinking shots; Howard had one more but the taste of alcohol made him feel him feel ill. By the time all three men had finished their fifth one, there was only a third of the bottle left.

"One minute." James slurred. "Howard…I thought you were a man; you aren't even drinking!"

"I did, I had two-"

" _Two_?" Daniel screamed.

"They are right you know." Jedd said to Howard dangerously. "I think that to prove, that you're manly enough to come out with us to grab some birds later, you have to finish THE WHOLE BOTTLE!" he said, shoving the vodka bottle into Howard's hands.

"I-I can't-"

"Oh okay…I guess you're too much of a chicken." Daniel made fun of him.

"No I'm not!" Howard defended; he took the bottle and started drinking the heavily alcoholic beverage. They were all just trying to make him into a man. Of course that's what they were doing. They were trying to help him.

He finished it and threw the bottle on the floor, making it smash, and wiped his mouth, his face in disgust from the dreadful taste.

"I don't think that was enough…" Jedd admitted.

"I-I finished the whole bottle?" Howard said in a high-pitched voice. They told him, they told him that he would be a man if he did that and now his vision was going blurry and he started feeling dizzy.

"You need to do something that really proves your one of us…any ideas guys?"

"I don't have any more alcohol." James said in disappointment.

"I've got an idea." Daniel said before walking over to the work bench and grabbing a plastic wallet labelled sample drug.

"Groovy Daniel, groovy!" Jedd congratulated the other chemist.

"Jedd, I don't think that's a good idea-"Smith started.

"Chill Frank, chill." Jedd said calmly. "It's safe remember, we have all the evidence, Howard can just be the first…human tester of the drug. Here's the deal Howy, you have to take five of these pills, if you do, you will the coolest chemist in the whole university, you will be praised forever, think about it…getting any girl you want…getting the prettiest girl-"

"You think they'll like me for this?" Howard asked me hopefully.

"Of course they will!" Jedd cooed.

"Okay, I'll do it!" Howard answered, maybe it was his state of drunkenness, maybe it was his desire to be accepted in society, but he felt himself swallowing all of the pills at once. He did it! He was finally going to be-

He started choking, his airways were blocking up…he couldn't breathe it was like someone had stapled his oesophagus together. He tried gasping for air but nothing seemed to work. His four other friends were staring at him in confusion but Jedd began laughing…why was he laughing? He fell to the floor at the last thing he saw before he lost consciousness were the four scientists…doing nothing at all to help him, just standing around him in a state of confusion.

X

Now:

"I don't know why we didn't do anything to help him." Frank admitted, looking down at his hands, that were intertwined and resting on his stomach. "We were drunk…maybe we didn't realise exactly what was happening before it was too late. I remembered what happened afterwards…I realised he was still, too still…I ran up to take his pulse but there was nothing…no heartbeat anymore. We killed him. Even though I've tried so hard to forget that day, I still remember every detail of it. Howard tried so hard to be one of us; he was still a kid, still under the control of his mother.

"Jedd took control of what happened and he reassured us that it wasn't our fault, Howard took those pills by himself. There were no witnesses, no CCTV back then either so we had the opportunity to literally get away with murder. We went home that night different men, our drunkenness making the whole situation seem like a horrible nightmare. The next day Jedd said that we should abandon the whole project, even though it would be a massive achievement. He said that if there was no end project, then there would be no record of it on the files and we should try and erase any evidence of us being friends with Howard in case it did turn into a murder investigation. Jedd was smart, he was manipulative but he was clever as hell, we trusted him because we needed someone to rely on, we didn't know what the heck to do.

"He then instructed us all to never speak to each other again, not even outside work…just in case they could connect us all to him one day. I never spoke to any of them again. I never mentioned Howard's name again. I thought that I would never have to tell that story; I thought I would take it to my grave. Howard didn't deserve to die, but we were all young gentlemen, stupid youths who didn't know how reckless we were all being…we were drunk…and we chose to take it out on that poor boy. You can arrest me if you want…I know I have escaped prison for long enough."

"We're not going to arrest you Frank." Sam said softly. Frank bent his head down, letting out a sob and teardrops dropping from his eyes, as if his deny of justice made him feel even guiltier.

"Truth is we're not even FBI agents." Dean admitted roughly. "We're hunters."

"Hunters… as in?"

"Supernatural hunters," Emma explained gently.

"I feel like I'm in a madhouse." The old chemist breathed.

"This ghost is pissed off" Dean explained sharply "and it's aiming its anger at you…as soon you step outside this circle, you're going to be in a shit load of trouble."

"But…I'm sorry. HOWARD I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN IT. I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY!"

"Can ghosts forgive?" the redhead asked hopefully.

"Rarely." The long-haired hunter informed.

"It's already marked you as a victim, Frank." The older agent warned. "He's seen you as a murderer for-what-fifty years? This idea in his head has been with him all the time he's been dead. Imagine that, the hunger and desire to kill someone you hate, he's been planning and waiting for this moment for all of his ghost-life. He's not going to turn away now that you're sorry, he's probably more pissed off at you for only telling him you're sorry now instead of all those years ago."

"So, I'm a dead man?" the victim cried out angrily.

"No." Emma firmly replied.

"We didn't just come here to tell you you're dying tonight Frank." Sam said.

"We're going to save your sorry ass and finally end this douche Howard." Dean explained. "But we're going to need your help."

"How?"

"When Howard died, what did you do with his body?"

"We left him there, for the police to find."

"But there was nothing that you took? No hair, no objects-"

"Jedd…he took something- a jacket…yes that's it. Jedd gave Howard a jacket, one from the university he went to and Howard always wore it like a trophy. He idolized Jedd, we all did, he was the smartest, the tallest and the most handsome out of all of us, and he had even dated a model before! Anyway, Howard wore this jacket every day, he loved it; he found pride in owning something Jedd Gardner had given to him. When he died, Jedd realised that he was wearing his jacket and he was scared of his piece of clothing being evidence to say that he was related to his death and so he took it…I never knew what he did with it though."

"Well it's the only thing that might be in here." Dean decided. "Sammy, come with me, Em, you look after Mr Smith here."

Emma nodded, even though she wanted to be a part of the hunting side of the job, she had never been on a spontaneous hunt before. What if the jacket wasn't in the building? What would Sam and Dean do? It was too risky but she knew there was no other way out for Frank.

"Well, where would some old man keep an old jacket?"

"In his office?" Sam suggested.

"All the scientists had a locker if they had extra things they couldn't keep in their labs." Frank remembered.

"Where?"

"The basement."

"C'mon Sammy!" Dean said in excitement.

"We'll see you soon." Sam said, giving Emma a reassuring smile that she read as we're-not-going-to-die-don't-worry. They left the protection of the salt barrier and Dean aimed his gun, ready to shoot anything that moved. "Don't step outside this circle for _any_ reason and if Howard somehow attacks you, you know what to do." He said, handing her one of the guns.

"Good luck." She whispered to the two of them before they left the lab.

"Is this what young people do these days?" Frank asked shakily with a smile. "Save old codgers like me?"

"No, just me." Emma laughed. "I kinda got dragged into this whole thing."

"Why's that?"

"Long story."

"Oh, come on, I've told you mine. I'm guessing these boys aren't your brothers, you're from England, aren't you?"

"Yeah, and no they're not my brothers, they are, I'm their friend. Basically…I'm being chased by a demon."

"I know the feeling." He joked.

"No, like I'm being chased by an _actual_ demon."

"Oh, heaven almighty, they exist?"

"Ghosts existing didn't surprise you enough?" she asked with a light smile.

"Well, I'm still taking that in, in my old age I feel like I've lived most of my time on this earth in the happiness of thinking these things are make belief."

"Yeah, I was alright thinking that too."

"So, tell me, what did you do to upset a _demon_?"

"I don't know, he chose me for some reason and I have no idea why."

"Good greatness! What would something so evil want to do with an innocent young girl like you?"

"I wouldn't use the word innocent so freely."

"Why so? I'm a murderer, it can't be better than anything you've done."

Before Emma could answer, one of the lights above them began to flicker.

"He's here…isn't he?" Frank whispered hoarsely.

"I'm not sure but he can't hurt us." She reassured him, along with herself.

"Why? Why is a ghost afraid of _salt_?"

"I don't know…different creatures are afraid of different things."

"It's my fault. If I hadn't killed him, he would never have had turned into this."

"Sam told me that if you die before your time, you get a choice to stay here or leave this world. Howard _chose_ to stay here; it drove him to insanity. You may have been a part of his murder but it is his fault that he became trapped here." She said, the words leaking out her mouth sounding cruel to her ears.

"But if I hadn't murdered him, he would still be alive. The whole stunt Jedd, James, Daniel and I pulled was pointless, we made him kill himself and then we got away with it."

"If anything, it was Jedd's fault. He was obviously the leader of your group and he was the one who made Howard drink the vodka and take the pills."

"No, no, I should have said something; anything…all I did was suggested to Jedd that we didn't make Howard do anything. He turned me away and then I did nothing else to stop Howard from taking those pills. I should have-I should have been more of a man. Howard was a good friend, he always tried to make me like him and I never noticed him all that too much. He was quiet and shy…I think he was scared of us. We all took advantage of him; saw him as a walking joke. He was too young, too innocent…too naïve to die. He died and I got to- I got to live. Why did I get to live and not him? And now I'm too cowardly to let him get justice." Frank said before stopping his monologue. His eyes widened and his mouth opened. "I'm not a coward." He stepped over the salt barrier and walked out into the centre of the room.

"FRANK!" Emma shouted. "Come back!"

The young girl's words were nothing but muffled noises in the background to Frank. Although legs were shaking and his blood was chilling to freezing point in his veins, he was ready to accept whatever dreadful end destiny had chosen for him.

When she realised that her words would have no effect on him, Emma quickly ran out of the protection circle and ran after the old man. She grabbed the old man's arm and spun him around to reveal his face, the pain, guilt and terror painted on his face like it was a story in itself.

"It's not worth it." She said to him straightforwardly, half annoyed that he had foolishly risked both of their safety, and half saddened by the man, who had lived with this lie for forty years.

She started to lead him back to the circle, her gun held tightly in her hand. They got to the circle edge; Emma was surprised but happy that the ghost hadn't attacked them. The light started flickering violently, Emma tried to push Frank in the circle first but, before he was in, they were both pushed against the wall, she banged her head and her vision went blurry before she sunk into blackness.


	23. Their Lost Sister

The lift doors slowly opened to the bottom floor that was the basement.

"Here we are again." Dean said before stepping out into the dully-lit room.

"How the hell are we going to find out which one is his?" Sam asked, pointing to the lockers where one of them supposedly and Jedd's old letterman jacket. "There are hundreds in here."

"Guess we'll just have to have fun finding out."

They began going to each locker and reading out the names labelled on each one.

"Here!" Sam said a few moments later, reading out the name Jedd Gardner on a metal locker.

"Let's get this over and done with." Dean said darkly before getting out his gun and shooting the lock on the metal box. The door swung open. They looked inside to find a few books, a spare lab coat and a picture of a young woman, but no jacket.

"I'M CALLING THE POLICE" A voice screamed in terror a few seconds later.

The two brothers spun around to see the boy they had met earlier: Joey Salt- the janitor of the university.

"Oh, hey." Dean said smoothly.

"You-you guys again?" he stuttered.

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you." Sam said gently.

"Why-why are you here?"

"Just…just routine check-up."

"Hey, you're down here a lot; you never saw the dead guy Jedd Gardner, did you?" Dean asked him quickly.

"No-no, I didn't murder him, I swear!" he agitatedly said.

"We know, we know." Sam reassured him. "We just want to know if you've ever seen him-"

"With a jacket- a university jacket," Dean completed.

"Hang on, a minute."

"Yeah?" Sam asked hopefully.

"It wasn't him; it was the other dead guy, James Brennen."

"James?"

"Yeah, I saw him with some yellow jacket; he put it in his locker. I heard him saying to himself that he needed to keep it safe…from the police."

"Where is it Joey, we need to know." Sam questioned eagerly.

"I'll show you." He said before walking down the locker aisle. "But why do you need to know?"

"Believe us; you really don't want to know."

"Right." Joey said nervously. "Well it's here," he stopped at a locker with James Brennen shown on a white label in the bottom right corner.

"Thanks." Sam acknowledged kindly. "If you want to be out of the way of danger, you'll leave us too it."

Joey nodded quickly before he walked away from them at such a fast pace, it could've been mistaken for a run.

Dean got his gun out and shot the locker again, the door swung open and it showed the yellow jacket inside the cage. Sam grabbed it out; it was a pale, lemon yellow with 'Missouri' written across the chest.

"Let's burn this baby." Dean growled, taking the lighter out of his pocket.

"NO!" A voice yelled before they both flew across the room, causing Dean to drop the lighter and Sam the jacket, their bodies hit the lockers and they were being held up by an invisible force, seven feet in the air. Howard Mitchell's body appeared, his ghostly presence causing shivers to go up their spine and the lightbulbs to flicker like it was a strobe show. "I don't deserve to die like this, AGAIN!" he shouted.

"You need to stop with the murdering Howard, the past is the past, you died but Frank is sorry." Sam explained.

Howard clenched his fist in the air and the brothers both felt their throats being tightened, they started gagging for air but they were soon suffocating.

"He's out; he's out of the salt…" Howard sensed. "C'mon, die quicker!" he said, as he clenched his fist tighter, strengthening the grip on the two brothers' throats.

"No, no!" Howard yelled several moments later "He's about to go back in the circle…" Howard let go of the two bodies and they fell to the floor and disappeared.

X

"Howard, please!" Frank begged, struggling to look at the man who was about to murder him.

"STOP." Howard yelled. "Stop acting like you don't deserve this."

"I know-I know I do…but please don't kill her." The old man begged, looking at the redhead, who was unconscious in the air.

Howard laughed. "You just gave me and idea on how to torture you more."

"Please, she doesn't deserve it."

"Hmm…I'm sure we can make a way that is appropriate. She looks pretty, if she was alive when I was and I asked her out, I bet she would have turned me down…wouldn't you sweetheart." He cooed to Emma, before letting her drop to the floor, causing her head to smash against the ground again.

"You evil bastard!" Frank yelled. "For all these years I've felt sorry for you but seeing you here now, I realize that you deserved to die, murdering innocent women like that-"

"HOW DARE YOU." Howard screeched, he grabbed the cloth, which he used several minutes before to try and kill the old man, off the floor and covered his mouth in it again. Frank began to choke as the chemicals he was inhaling began to smoother his lungs. "I didn't deserve any of your cruelty. I tried so hard to try and get you to like me and for what? You're worthless and you murdered me!" he cried before his pale, dead eyes widened and his force on the cloth loosened slightly. "NO, they-they can't kill me yet!" he said before disappearing once more.

X

Sam and Dean were slumped on the floor, gasping for breath, trying to heal their organs, which had just been violated. Oh, how oxygen had never tasted so sweet and pure.

"Em-Emma?" Sam choked. "She's-she's in danger."

"Shit." Dean breathed before getting up quickly and searching for his lighter. It had slid under the lockers, he got down on his knees and looked under the bottom row of the metal boxes, he turned his flashlight on and searched for the fire tool under the bright, yellow light. He found it a few moments later. Sam grabbed the Missouri jacket and held it out for Dean to set alight. The older hunter tried flicking the lighter but no flame appeared.

"No, no, no, God not now you son of a bitch." He whispered.

Sam grabbed it from him and tried to get it going but it wouldn't start.

"It's out of gas." He said grimly.

They were pushed against the lockers again. Howard reappeared and began to suffocate them again.

"Maybe I can kill all four of you tonight." He grinned. "Three jerks who deserve to die because they tried to kill me…and one bird. I saw her. Maybe I can make her mine…that bitch is too pretty for her own good but now she's almost dead, I'll trap her here and then she'll have no choice but to date me."

"You're sick." Sam choked.

"I DESERVE HER. It's compensation for the miserable life God gave me. She's going to love me, sure she's probably going to hate me at first…but all we're going to have is each other, what a perfect reward- killing my murders and gaining a sweetheart." Howard cackled before he started screaming. His body caught fire and seconds later he burst into embers. Sam and Dean dropped to the floor and began breathing in fresh oxygen again.

Joey Salt was standing next to a yellow jacket burning on the floor. He had a face of pure terror and was shaking violently.

"Joey?" Sam grinned.

"WHAT THE HELL?" the man screamed. "What just happened? Am I-am I going crazy?"

"No, no, everything was real." Dean confirmed. "You just murdered a ghost."

"I'm a murderer?"

"No, he was dead already."

"Oh my God, oh my God! I'm losing my fricken mind."

"How did you set it on fire? Our lighter was out of juice."

"I was curious so I stayed and watched you guys, I saw the ghost and I saw it disappear and then I was too scared to reveal myself…I mean something…some impossible creature tried to murder you. And then I saw you get the lighter and try to light that jacket on fire but then that…that thing came back and I knew what I had to do." He explained before holding up a lighter that was different to his own. "I used to smoke, I stopped a month ago but I still carry one for some reason."

"Well it's lucky you did." Dean grinned.

"You're not going to arrest me, are you?" he asked in fear.

"No, of course not! You just saved our bacon."

"And no one else will know I killed him?"

"No one knows that ghosts exist." Sam reminded him. "And we would like it if you didn't tell anyone."

"Yeah-yeah course, I'm going…I'm going to go and…yeah." He said before scurrying away from them again.

"Nice kid." Dean acknowledged.

"Emma." Sam said quickly, Dean gave him an alerted look before they both rushed to the lift.

Dean pressed the button that said '3' numerously with his thumb. The doors closed and they soon felt the lift taking them up to the third floor.

"That bastard was sick." Dean said through clenched teeth.

"I know." Sam said grimly. "Dean, if she's not alright-"

"She will be, don't worry Sammy." The older brother said confidently.

"He said she was almost dead-"

"She ain't dying, okay," Dean said angrily, "I ain't gonna let her die today!"

The doors opened and they hurried to Frank Smith's lab. They found the old chemist lying on the floor, breathing heavily, the chemical-soaked cloth by his side. In the other corner of the room, they found another body limp and slumped against the wall. Emma Viola was motionless and unconscious.

They both ran to her side, Sam pulled her out into the centre of the room before shaking her shoulders gently. "Emma, Emma can you hear me?" after the redhead did not reply, he placed her in the recovery position. "She's still breathing." He said in relief, causing Dean's worried expression to light up into a grin.

"Howard, he-he pushed her up against the wall." Frank explained, walking up to the two brothers. "She banged her head…I think she'll be alright, just concussion."

"Why were you out of the circle?"

"It was my fault." Frank breathed heavily. "It was-it was a moment of insanity where I wanted Howard to kill me, Emma tried to get me back into the circle."

"You fucking bastard, she could have died!" Sam shouted at him angrily.

"We would've died if he didn't." Dean said darkly. "Get out of here Frank, you may have saved us but you almost killed Emma for being so fricken stupid. Get out of here before I'm forced to kick your ass for it."

"O-Okay," Frank stuttered, putting his hands up in surrender after realising he was in danger again. "T-Thank you." He said in a scared voice before quickly exiting the room.

"She shouldn't have gone after him; she should've let him die." Sam said quietly, looking down at the redhead by him on the floor.

"She's Emma; you know she wouldn't have let him walk into the slaughter house without trying to save him first." Dean chuckled.

"That's true." Sam said, smiling lightly.

"I think she's growing on us, isn't she?"

Before Sam could answer, he heard a soft moan escape from the redhead's lips. Emma slowly began to open her eyes, seeing two blurred faces above her, of whom she knew.

"Emma?" Sam said gently, his voice was muffled and his face was dancing in front of her face as her eyes couldn't focus on him.

"Wh-where am I?" she asked, she attempted to stand up but the floor seemed to be spinning, she lost her balance, she fell but Sam caught her in his arms and sat her back down.

"Take it easy okay?" he said in barely a whisper.

"I don't remember what happened." She said, scared to find out about the event that had just taken place. Where was she? She tried to look around the room but it was hard to concentrate on anything. From what she managed to detect, she was in a room that looked like a lab, with a work bench and glass vials with different coloured liquids in them.

"We were on a hunt, remember?" Dean reminded her.

"Hunt?"

"Okay, what's the last thing you recall?"

"Umm…I was in…I was in the protection circle with that man…Frank." She managed, the memory reforming in her mind like remembering a dream. "He-he ran out of it, I chased him and tried to get him back to safety…but then…the ghost- Howard- appeared." She said before her eyes widened and she sat up. "Frank, where's Frank?" she asked in panic.

"Hey, hey, hey calm down." Dean said quietly.

"He's dead, isn't he?" she cried. "I should've tried harder-I should've-"

"He's alive, don't worry." Sam reassured her.

"You killed Howard?"

"Yeah, he's gone."

"So…Frank's alive?" she asked them hopefully.

"Yes."

"That's a relief." She sighed, the panic leaving her and reassurance taking its place.

"Yeah…how do you feel?" Dean asked.

"Like I've just been punched in the brain." She admitted. "Everything's blurry…and I feel dizzy."

"We'll get you outside, fresh air will help." The younger brother explained.

"Yeah and out of a room that's full of chemicals." The older added.

Sam slowly helped Emma up. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her body closer to hers to support her and she put her arm around his neck. They slowly began to follow the older hunter out of the room and to the lift. Emma felt as if she was about to vomit, her legs felt stiff and weak like she'd forgotten how to control them. Her vision still made her feel like she was stuck in a dream, the colours were vivid and looked fuzzy. Her hearing was muffled, as if both of her ears had been stuffed with cotton wool. The whole state of being concussed was not a pleasant one and she wanted to feel normal again.

She lost balance and her hand grabbed on to Sam's collar, she pulled herself up again. "Sorry." She apologized to the hunter in embarrassment.

"It's fine." Sam said before smiling. "You're too modest, Emma. You've just been knocked unconscious in the act of trying to save someone and you're saying sorry?"

Emma laughed meekly before apologizing again, causing Sam to chuckle.

They reached the outside, Emma breathed the oxygen in and it helped. It seemed like fresh air was a remedy for the brain. Her vision was still blurry and the lack of light didn't seem to help, although her hearing seemed to come back, which she saw as a good thing.

"Are you ready to leave this place?" Dean asked hopefully.

Emma inhaled and exhaled like in deep meditation before nodding to her fellow hunter. Sam took her to the car and helped her in before getting in the front. Baby's engine roared before the car drove off into the darkness and away from the university that was no longer haunted by the spirit of Howard Mitchell.

X

Emma woke up in her bed in the motel the next afternoon, the light burnt her eyes, causing her to blink excessively several times to try and help her adjust to the daylight. The reason that she'd woken up so late was because she forced herself to stay up until she finally drifted off four-in-the-morning because she knew that it was dangerous for concussed people to sleep. She recapped the events of yesterday, it had certainly been twenty-four hours that seemed to drag pass slowly. She recalled last night's incident, all of it had been a blur and it was almost like a memory from years ago that she couldn't remember every detail of. She remembered arriving at the motel and Sam helping her to the couch before she watched the TV as the two brothers slept.

She was happy to realise that her vision had been restored and everything was in focus again but still felt a bit dizzy but that may have just been because she was tired from waking up.

"Guess who finally woke up," Dean chuckled as he walked over to her on the couch with a friendly smile.

"I know, sorry." She replied guiltily before yawning.

"You feeling better?" Sam asked hopefully.

"I think so." she grinned as she sat up to look at the brother packing a bag on his bed. "I mean, I still feel dizzy. How long will this this last for?"

"Couple of days at least." The older brother predicted. "A couple of weeks at most but you'll just feel a bit out of it and fatigue at times."

"Joy." She said sarcastically.

"See it as another hunting perk." Dean said in mock happiness.

"Talking of hunting, where now?" she asked curiously, knowing that their time in Nashville was over.

"We found a case in Oklahoma." Dean explained.

"Already?"

"Yeah, I guess it's hunting season. Another ghost I'm afraid."

"Well at least I know how to deal with them the most." She shrugged.

"Thatt'a girl." Dean grinned before standing up. "Well, seeing as my two hunting partners are now conscious and perfectly fine, I'm going to go pay the landlord." The eldest hunter left the room.

"Look I can stand up on my own now." Emma giggled, jumping off the couch to show Sam that her sense of balance had been restored.

"Well done." The younger brother chuckled.

"I wanted to thank you, for yesterday…I was kind of in need and you helped me."

"It's fine seriously, I'd do again."

"You would?"

"Yeah, of course, your technically mine and Dean's family now."

"I am?"

"Of course." Sam said gently, quite surprised that the young girl didn't know that already.

"Thanks." The redhead whispered, feeling tears come to her eyes, trying to stop herself becoming emotional.

"Are you crying?"

"No…well I just…I've never really had family that would risk their lives for me before,"

"Well you're a Winchester now." Sam grinned. "You're kind of like the lost sister we never had."

"Lost sister." Emma said, trying to smile but the tears heavily falling down her cheeks.


	24. Back and Forth

**Hey guys,**

 **I know I haven't updated in a while and I'm sorry!**

 **Please enjoy this chapter and please follow, favourite or/and review if you did!**

"One room for three please." Dean said to the receptionist at the new motel in Oklahoma.

It had been an extremely long and tiring day in the car, over eleven hours on the road and listening to Dean's cassettes on repeat. She still felt like her brain was still tender, like it had been beaten up. She'd lost her consciousness at one part of the trip after Dean took a sharp turn, causing her to have hit her head across the glass. She had woken up with Dean in the backseat, her head on his lap. He was so relieved when she woke up; Sam was too as they were worried that another blow to the head may force her to go into something as bad as a coma. She was out cold for an hour and a half, and Sam was even going to pull into the nearest hospital if she hadn't woken up. Castiel appeared a few minutes later, he touched her forehead and suddenly the heavy, dull feeling that plagued her brain disappeared. She beamed and thanked him greatly for relieving her of the bitter pain. He smiled at her before vanishing into nothingness. Even though she no longer had concussion, Dean remained with her for the rest of the trip. She fell asleep for a couple more hours, happy that she was back to normal and grateful that her brother-like friend was taking care of her.

"Okay." The receptionist said. "But we do not have a bed…big enough for three people."

"No, no, no!" Dean said angrily. "Why does everyone think we're doing that?! I'm sick of it!"

"Two rooms please." Emma smiled at the women at the desk, "One with two doubles and the other with one double."

"Emma, are you sure?"

"Yeah, I mean it was too difficult anyway and I'm not concussed or anything anymore."

"Okay, if you're certain, we'll take that please." Dean smiled.

 _X_

" _For the last fucking time Dean, I missed!" Sam yelled three days later on a Tuesday night._

" _Yeah you missed and almost fricken shot me!" Dean replied in an enraged growl._

Emma listened to the fight going on next door through her thin walls: the muffled voices of the two older brothers roaring at each other. She had heard them argue but things had never gotten this bad before. She put her hands around her ears and bowed her head into her lap before slowly beginning to rock herself back and forth. "Remember back and forth, back and forth." She whispered to herself.

" _What about the next time?" Dean shouted the loudness of his voice defeated her hand barriers to her ears._

"Back and forth." She kept on telling herself. "Just like we always do it. Back and forth, nothing bad is going to happen."

" _Fucking hell Dean!" the younger brother cursed._

She put more pressure against her ears, but it didn't work. It never did.

" _You need to get your act together. What if next time it actually hits me? What if next time it's Em?"_

They brought her into it, just like _they_ used to do, twenty-four hours of them arguing, shouting, and threatening each other. She took her hands away from her ears; it was no use, no use at all, only a way to let out her stress.

" _It was one mistake Dean, you've made mistakes Dean."_

" _Yeah but mine are plausible yours are just goddamn reckless." The older brother commented, she heard the next room's door open. "HEY DON'T YOU WALK OUT OF HERE! I'm not done with you yet."_

" _Yeah well I am." Sam answered back._

Emma heard the two voices travel to the outside; she sensed the danger and pushed her head harder against her knees, begging sleep to take her away from the fighting.

" _Yeah and that's just what you do isn't it?" Dean snarled._

They were basically outside her door; she was terrified they would come in and bring her into it…just like _they_ did.

" _What?" Sam asked, his voice going scarily deep._

" _You always leave Sam, every time things get to much for you. When you had one little fight with dad, you left. When we fight, you leave."_

" _You wanna fight Dean? Fine, we'll fucking fight." The younger brother yelled before she heard a body hit the wall._

" _That's it Sammy…that's the way to do it."_

" _Inside now!" Sam yelled._

" _Oh wow, you're done with being a coward and running away?"_

" _Don't test me Dean!"_

She heard as the voices travelled back inside the room next door. Maybe it was beginning to be over…maybe they'd stop and they could be nice to each other again.

" _Oh, that's exactly what I'm going to do." Dean said smoothly._

Suddenly a smash on the floor made her jump, it had turned to physical attacking. It wasn't like the last time, it couldn't be. It would never be like that again. She'd promised herself that she would never trap herself in a situation that was like this many years ago.

" _Don't you fucking throw things at me Dean?"_

" _Why? You dodged that glass, what about this one?"_

Another glass smashed. She didn't feel safe here anymore. It was like last time: the time that made her feel more scared she'd ever been, the time that caused her to cry herself to sleep for a week, the time that would never lift the stain off her memory.

" _Oh wow, you can dodge bullets." Dean praised his younger brother sarcastically. "Now let's see if you can throw them."_

She felt a cold sweat beginning to overtake her body, contrasting with the hot tears escaping her eyes. She needed to get out of here. She needed to get away before she turned insane and did what she did last time.

She got up slowly and the cold, March air hit her, making her shiver even more. Her legs were shaking as she slowly walked down the motel deck and past the door that was left open ajar. Through it, she dared to look inside and see the scene the brothers were making.

She looked through the crack of the open door that neither of the brothers had bothered to close. Sam had thrown a glass at Dean, who was standing just in front of the door; it missed and almost hit her. She slammed the door as a reflex.

She turned around, her shaking hand leaving the door knob and began running, running away from this damn motel, running away from this damn life and running away most of all from her damn self. Running. It always made her feel better, didn't it? Just like the last time she ran, it would help. The wind caused her tears to fly of her face and she raced down the spiked grass lawn. The motel was by a forest, she felt herself sprinting towards it, to the trees that would hide her keep her safe. She thought she was finally beginning to feel at home, her legs began to buckle but she kept on dashing to the trees that were faintly outlined in the dark. It couldn't be happening again…but it was. Sam's face, it was full of anger…he looked like he was ready to murder his brother. He wouldn't have had…would he? Everything was shit, just like the old times and now she knew…she knew she couldn't escape her deepest and darkest fears forever. She had been stupid to even think so.

She entered the woods and ran through them blindly in the dark. The trees felt like a cage of protection and made her feel better, but away from the fighting didn't stop the memories from haunting her mind.

She reached her spontaneous destination and collapsed before it. She stopped on the shore by the lake, the moon bouncing off the water and the waters calmness acting like a drug to calm her down. She put her head in her hands and began to cry as she felt her nightmares wrap themselves around her.


	25. Her Lost Sister

**Hey guys,**

 **Here's a new chapter in honour of the new series of Supernatural! Loving the fact that it's now officially Friday 13** **th** **as well, although I seem to be lucky as I get the day off school!**

 **If you liked this chapter then it would make my day if you followed or favourited it and please, please,** **please** **review because I love to read what people think of my story so far!**

 **Extra note: the last chapter was pretty dramatic as Sam and Dean were fighting next door and it had gotten to the point where Emma had to leave the motel. This chapter will continue from Sam and Dean's perspective.**

"You want me to hit you…fine I'll hit you." Sam said before grabbing a glass and aiming it at his brother. This was the maddest he'd felt in months; his anger was taking over him like alcohol took over a sober man. He messed up once and missed his aim at the ghost, making it throw all three of them against the wall, luckily Emma was still holding on to an iron bar and threw it at the bastard, allow the three hunters able to regain their control and kill the ghost. He made one mistake and his brother thought he could take advantage of the whole fucking thing.

He threw the glass at his brother and it missed him by inches. The slamming of their motel door distracted them from Sam's failures.

"Em?" Dean asked, turning around.

"Shit Dean, she probably got freaked out when we started attacking each other!" Sam said in panic.

"Yeah you're probably right." His brother said softly.

"I'll go try and find her; you stay here in case she comes back." Sam said before running out of the room to search for the redhead.

He ran into the cold air, he grabbed his flashlight out of his jacket pocket and flicked it on. In the distance, the yellow light found a body about twenty metres running into the woods. He chased her, wanting to apologize if he and Dean had scared her in anyway.

He found her a few minutes later as he reached the edge of the river as he saw the outline of her body, her face was in her hands and she was on her knees by the lake.

He slowly walked up to her before placing his hand on her shoulder, she flinched away from him. He put the torch back in his pocket, seeing as the moon bouncing of the river gave off enough light. Her eyes were puffy and red with the black makeup smudged around them again.

"I can't take it." She whispered.

"Take what?"

"The fighting." She said, standing up. "I hate it, it reminded me of old times and the way things used- used to be" She put her hands on her head and paced up and down the river line. Sam quickly went up and stopped her but her hands remained on her head. "I can never escape it, I tried to forget…it's been three years, but I can't- I can't!"

"Emma please." He whispered. He had never seen the young girl like this before and quite frankly, it scared him.

"Don't, please don't try to understand what's going on." She said angrily, as she began pacing again. "Because it's-it's fucking messed up. It's like I'm screaming constantly and no one can hear me because no one's fucking listening." She cried before collapsing to her knees.

"Emma!" Sam said kneeling down to join her. "It's okay, I'm listening. Tell me, please, I can see that's it's killing you and I want to help."

Emma put her head in her hands before letting out a sob and getting back up. "You can't help me I'm broken. I've been trying so hard to pretend like I'm fine but I'm not…I'm never fine and I'm sick of acting like it."

"You don't have to Emma…just please tell me what's going on."

"F-Fine." She screamed. "Leukaemia, that's what."

"W-What do you-"

"One day you're fine, living your childhood and then next day everything's fucking ruined. She was sixteen, it wasn't fucking fair. She was the best person anyone could ever meet and she didn't deserve what God punished her with. I was only ten when I had to learn that my sister wasn't going to be there forever. It wasn't fair watching her becoming weaker and weaker by the minute and her being taken away from you when she was eighteen.

"Her name was Georgia Viola but I only knew her as Georgie. She died when I was thirteen. What kind of a person should have to deal with death at that age, what kind of sick God would allow that? I had to live with the fear of the possibility of my sister dying that day, for three years. My parents forced me to go to a boarding school when she was locked up in a fricken hospital; I had to learn if she was okay and alive by a letter once a month. She died on the sixteenth of October…and _I_ was there. I loved my sister but when she died…it only got worse.

"Being pulled out of school for a month, listening to them scream at each other, having mum completely ignore me for days on end, acting like both of her daughters had died. I had to go with them to couple counselling because my mother and father couldn't figure it out themselves. When we came out of the sessions, they made me try and hide and repress all those emotions I felt in case someone we knew saw us in a state that wasn't 'suitable' for them to witness. They forced me to tell them who I loved more- mummy or daddy- and then they shouted at me because I didn't know. My parents didn't get divorced because they were worried of what 'the others might say'. They don't even _love_ each other anymore! I listened to them fight every single fucking night of the summer holidays and having to experience my daddy mysteriously disappearing days on end, leaving me stuck with my deranged mother and my brother, who came back drunk every night. I was forced to listen to my mother shout at me for not being the one who died… she probably didn't even care when I went missing.

"Everyone knew that Georgie deserved to live more than I did, she was strong and I was weak. You wanted to know what my worst memory was…well here it is. My worst memory was watching her have a stroke right in front of my eyes in her hospital bed. Both of my parents went out to get a cup of tea and I was the only one to stay with her. And then- then she started having some sort of fit and I didn't know what was happening or what to do! It's my fault she died, my hands were shaking too much and I couldn't…I couldn't pull the emergency cord. She would have lived for at least another few days if I hadn't been so pathetic. I will never forget how I let her die right in front of my eyes, and I will never forgive myself. I died the day that she did and no one cared that I was suffering. No one fucking noticed me crying myself to sleep on those lucky nights where I actually managed to lose consciousness at all. I just had to stay quiet and be the Viola's child.

"When you and Dean were fighting…it reminded me of the nights were mum and dad were yelling at each other all night. Once, I had enough and I went downstairs to try and stop them. My father struck my cheek so hard I fell to the ground. My mum looked at me with- with these _cold_ eyes like I deserved it. She then told me to 'get out' and didn't even help me up. You were so _mad_ at each other it made me feel like I was there again. It scared me so much Sam." She whispered.

"I'm sorry." Sam whispered, feeling tears roll down his face after realising just how broken the girl was.

"I'm sorry…I'm being pathetic." She whimpered.

"You're not Emma… I can promise you, you're not being pathetic. You've been so brave Emma, believe me."

"But I'm not…I can't fight, I can't because I'm scared how the person I'm fighting will retaliate."

"It's alright, it's alright." He gently said before pulling her into a tight hug.

"I'll never be as brave as her. She may be dead, but she will always outlive me." She admitted into his shoulder.

Sam stroked the girl's hair, trying to calm the young girl down but he couldn't help but break down himself. She had gone through do much shit in her life and he knew for certain she was brave for surviving it all. He could only imagine how she could hide it for all this time. He and Dean had messed up…so much. That stupid fight was not worth Emma's melancholy.

"Sam?" she asked a few minutes later her head still in his shoulder and his arms around her back, no words needed as they both reflected on what they said and what they heard.

"Yeah?" the Winchester replied.

"Can we go back now? It's kind of cold out here."

"Yeah, yeah!" he nodded enthusiastically before standing up and offering her his hand.

"You don't have to do that, you know." she smiled sadly as they walked through the forest.

"Do what?"

"Treat me like this?"

"I'm not acting any differently. Why would I?"

"I don't know…most people change their behaviour towards their background once they find out about their hidden tragedies, which is why I don't tell people about her."

"Oh God, Emma, I didn't mean to- I mean, no, I won't treat you differently, okay?"

"Okay, I guess I could believe that." She sheepishly replied.

They reached the motel less than five minutes later.

"Jesus Christ, Em. What the hell were you thinking?!" Dean asked her angrily. "You think you could just run off like that with no explanation?!"

"I'm sorry, Dean." She said softly as she looked down at the fragments of glass on the floor.

"Yeah you should be- wait," he replied once he looked at her properly, seeing the black rivers that marked her cheeks and her raw red eyes, "Em, are you okay? What happened?!"

"Not now, Dean." Sam shook his head before turning to Emma and asking "do you wanna stay in here tonight?"

"If it's alright with you two." She looked at a confused Dean hopefully for confirmation.

"Yeah, yeah," the older Winchester agreed, "I'll sleep on the couch or something."

"Okay, good. Emma, make yourself comfortable, okay and if you need anything-"

"I'm the same person." She reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah course." He nodded. "Dean, could I speak to you outside?"

"I guess." He shrugged before following Sam out of the room.

Emma sighed, knowing that they would be talking about her through those thin walls and there was no point trying to think otherwise. She went to sit on the bed before carefully getting underneath the covers. Her emotions were still blocking her ability to think rationally and she had no idea if the burden had been lifted by telling Sam or made even heavier. She slowly lay her head on the hard pillow before closing her eyes, trying to block out any sound coming from the Winchester's mouths outside as she knew that the lexical field would be Emma Viola.

"Shit," Dean replied roughly once Sam had finished telling the story that Emma had just told him.

"I know." Sam nodded.

"That poor kid, dude."

"She didn't deserve any of that crap from her parents which is why I'm saying that we should try and stop having these pointless fights, you get me?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure." Dean nodded as a tear managed to escape his eye. "Look, Sammy, about earlier, I'm sorry for chucking those glasses at you."

"It's fine, Dean." Sam smiled before letting his older brother pull him into a hug.


	26. Reminiscing but still Missing

**Hey guys,**

 **Slightly longer chapter up here today because I haven't updated this in what seems like ages.**

 **Although we have not reached the end yet, I'm happy to say that I have actually finished this story (yayy)! I'm not going to say how long I spent writing it or the word count or anything because I don't want to indicate the length of the story but I'm so proud to have finished it because I took this story in directions that I would have never expected but more on that later…**

 **Little flashback to the last chapter where Sam and Dean found out about Emma's lost sister, Georgia Viola. Just to warn you, this chapter will further continue to have a theme of cancer and may distress those who have dealt with the disease or know people who have. I'm sorry if it causes negative emotions/triggering to anyone and this was not my intention.**

 **Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please follow or favourite if you did and** **review** **if you did because I love hearing feedback!**

Emma slowly awakened the next morning, he eyes stung and felt extremely dry and sore. She shifted herself up in the motel bed and looked around the room. She saw Sam sitting on the bed opposite her and tying up his shoelaces.

"Why-Why am I here?" she asked in confusion, she thought she had her own motel room now? She didn't remember what had happened yesterday night, only them hunting that ghost in the library.

"Emma." The younger brother said quickly, he went and sat on the end of her bed. "How are you?"

"I'm fine…Sam what's going on?" she asked, beginning to feel scared of why the hunter was acting this way towards her.

"You don't remember?"

"Remember what…please tell me-I don't know what's happening." She begged. Sam looked at her, sadness taking over his eyes; he reached out for her hand and held it, giving it a soft squeeze.

"You told me about her…you told me about Georgia."

Emma her mouth slightly, her eyes formed tears and she bent her head down. The memories of her hit her like a blow to the head, remembering Sam and Dean fighting, her running to the forest and then telling Sam about Georgie. "I thought…I thought that was just a dream. I couldn't have told you that- I would have _never_ told you about her."

"It's okay." The hunter whispered. "It's all out now; you don't have to hide it anymore."

"I've only ever told Alex about her…she's the secret I can never tell anyone."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." she said firmly, she pulled her hand away from Sam and quickly got out of her bed. "Sorry…it's just I wasn't supposed to tell you. I'm used to-to keeping it to myself, that's the way it has to be."

"It doesn't have to be that way."

"Yes, it _does_." She said, her voice raising to almost a yell…she hated hearing herself being like this, she hated being rude to anyone, especially Sam, but he had no idea at all of what he was talking about.

"Hey, hey what's going on?" Dean asked as he walked through the door and into the tense room. "Em, are you alright? Is this about your sister, because Sam and I understand now?"

"You told him about her?" she asked Sam furiously.

"It's okay Em, we know now, we promise Sammy and I will try and quit our brotherly beef, we won't put you in that position again. We can help you get through this Em."

"You don't get it, neither of you get it. I'm not one of your hunting cases, I can't get through this. Don't try to understand it…because you fucking can't." she said darkly before walking out of the motel room and slamming the door.

"Shit." The older Winchester cursed.

"What do we do Dean?" Sam asked, looking at the door where Emma had just exited from, with a concerned expression on his face.

"I don't know…she seems pretty pissed off at us."

"I don't think she's mad at us, I think she's mad at herself."

"Why, she didn't do anything wrong?"

"I don't know, she thinks she brought on her sister's death, remember? The fear of being responsibility for a loved one's death can cause all kinds of emotional trauma."

"Yeah well I'm going to go put an end to that physiological bullshit."

"Are you sure, Dean, you can't help her, you have no experience whatsoever on how she feels emotionally."

"Of course we do!" Dean exclaimed, "Think about how many times I've seen you die!"

"Yeah but we always come back. Besides, we don't know how it feels to lose someone to cancer."

"Yeah well if I know anything, being on your own isn't the way to get rid of it either." Dean said before walking out of the room and going next door.

He knocked on the door and Emma opened it a few seconds later.

"I don't want to talk Dean." She said straightforwardly before she went to shut the door again, but he stopped it from slamming by putting his foot in the opening and pushing it back open. He walked in.

"No Em, we're gonna talk this out, okay?"

"Don't you get it? I _don't_ want to."

"No but I do, okay?" he said in a firm voice that gave him control of the situation. Emma fell silent, not making a reply and keeping her eyes on Dean. He stood opposite her, his arms crossed and his face stern.

"I don't want to talk about it Dean." She whispered.

"Look," Dean said, making his voice gentler and softening his expression. "I know that what you went through was shit…hell it sounds like you were on an endless rollercoaster of misery, but it you've gotta realise that it's life and it's gonna kick you down but that doesn't mean that you should stay lying on the ground forever."

"Please don't talk to me like that Dean." She said softly gulping down her tears. "Don't- not you-please not you of all people. Stop treating me like I'm some…little girl whose bunny just died."

"I'm not treating you like that-"

"Yes, you are!" she sobbed, putting her head in her hands and bending down slightly before looking up at him with raw red eyes. She laughed before admitting "this is why I never tell anyone about it…I mean about _her_."

"Emma," the older Winchester said lightly, "Sammy and me are here for you."

"Exactly and that's the point."

"What?"

"Yesterday what did you see me as?" she crossed her arms.

"What do you mean?" he frowned.

"Who did you see me as?"

"I dunno…Emma Viola the posh girl."

"Exactly, that's who I was. Now you see as Emma Viola…that posh girl with the dead sister."

"No, we don't- 'course we don't!" he said angrily.

"Yes, _yes_ you do. Yesterday you would have never told me that you and Sam were here for me and now you feel like you have to be. You've labelled me as some sort of emotionally unstable little girl who has to be helped through the dark but I've gone long without help and guess what, I don't need it. I don't tell people about Georgie because I hate being seen as the girl who lost her and I definitely don't need to be pitied right now because people think that it helps but it just makes life…shit."

"I'm sorry, Em." Dean sighed, "I should know that already, god knows how I hated the way people treated me back in high school when I told them that I didn't have a mom."

"People don't try to sympathise with you to make you feel better," Emma sniffed, "They do it to try and convince themselves that they're not the evil monsters that we always fear ourselves to be."

"Yeah, I agree with you on that." Dean sighed. "But I don't see you as vulnerable, Em, lord knows that your past may have weakened you but that don't mean it makes you weak talkin' about it. Life kicks you down all the time but I don't mean you shouldn't take a hand that's offered to you."

"I know that life kicks you down. I've been kicked down by life and I've been trying to fight it. I've tried to get over my sister's death…but I can't. I murdered her and I will never forget that."

"You didn't murder her Em."

"That's what my psychiatrist said." She said dimly. "He was apparently one of the best in the south of England. My parents only sent me to those weekly sessions because my English teacher contacted them when she became concerned for my behaviour in class." She went to sit by the side of her bed, Dean followed her. "My parents sent me to the one of the most expensive psychiatrists in the country, simply because they wanted their daughter to be 'fixed' as soon as possible. His name was Doctor Spektor. He told me I didn't murder Georgie, just like you, but I _know_ I did and nothing will ever change my mind. He never really helped in the end…just made me feel crazier than I already did."

"You're not crazy."

"Maybe not, but it felt like I was…back then. My home was like an asylum I had to grieve for my sister completely on my own. I'm used to suffering on my own Dean, and to be perfectly honest, I prefer it that way."

"Why? Em, we may have no idea of how you feel but we have experienced death, plenty of it. You're basically my little sister and I'm not going to let you suffer in silence now that I know what's going on-same goes for Sam- we're both here for you, you know that, right? And I don't mean it in the terms as seeing you as a vulnerability we need to strengthen. Never think that."

"I guess." She whispered. "I guess you and Sam are the ones who've experienced death the most. I loved Georgie so much but I don't want her death summarizing my life to others. Emma Viola: the broken rich girl."

"Yeah well I don't see you that way, mark my words." Dean told her firmly, "More like, Emma Viola: The brave, stubborn, classy redhead who kicks ass."

Emma laughed quietly and Dean pulled her into a hug.

"You're not a broken girl Em," the older Winchester whispered, "you just need a few stiches to sew you back together."

Emma giggled softly into his shoulders but tears still came to her eyes and she was soon sobbing into his shirt. Dean held her shaking body and stroked her hair softly with his right hand, his left placed on her lower back. He felt a few of his own tears forming in his eyes as he held the damaged girls and listened to her tragic story being let out after having been concealed for three years.

"Hey Dean?" Emma asked a few minutes later, slowly getting up from Dean's shoulder and wiping her eyes.

"Yeah?" Dean replied.

"Thank you."

"It's okay; it's my job, protecting my lil sister."

Emma giggled softly, everything still hurt like hell but at least she could manage to laugh. "I'm going to get changed."

"I'll leave you to it." Dean said softly, kissing her forehead before leaving the motel room.

X

Emma put her head against the edge of the bed and gradually used it to slide down and slump her body to the floor. Her eyes were stinging as if they were allergic to air, making her close them to end the pain. She knew she should've told them about Georgie. It was a mistake that she couldn't reverse. The truth was like a volcano, if she let it erupt she couldn't stop it. The lava that had been stuck in its cave for all those years was now set free, causing everything to now be in heated, sticky chaos. They would never look at her the same; she would never be that sweet, little girl, who had never had anything bad happen to her. Maybe it was a good thing that the truth was now out, she could finally stop hiding…but hiding was good. If no one knew that you were hidden in the shadows, then no one could try and save you and what was the point of being rescued from a monster that couldn't be defeated? It only caused both rescuee and rescuer pain and sorrow. She had just been so frustrated at the fighting and it had brought upon a moment of insanity, for that moment she didn't care if Sam found out, it was just too much and it was making the bottle that she was trying to keep everything inside overspill.

Slowly opened her eyes again, she forced herself up from the bed and walked over to the mirror hanging on the motel wall. She was still wearing the clothes she wore on the hunt yesterday, which were a pair of black skinny jeans and a blue sweatshirt. The areas around her eyes were stained black and were a concerning red: the effect of coming out of the darkness and unleashing the bitter truth. Was this the scared thirteen-year-old in the mirror that she had pushed away for all these years?

She thought back to one of her sessions with Dr Spektor, he had only given her one piece of advice that she felt had helped. _'Whenever you feel like things are getting too much and you can't tell anyone, not even me, take three deep breaths. In each one of the breaths you take, think of something about Georgia and how she made you smile. You may think it will be painful to think of your sister at all, but think of the times when she was alive and happy. Let her help you.'_ Emma had used this piece of advice probably over a thousand times and at least five a day in the first month he had told her in. It was hard the first couple of times, every time Georgie came to her mind, it brought automatic tears. But after the first few days, she had the selected memories of her sister that worked the best. The method from her psychiatrist had helped a great deal. The times when she ran out of her classroom in tears and locking herself in the bathroom for whole periods at a time but then having the breathing exercise that would calm her down and make her alright for a while was a life saver.

She breathed in heavily, inhaling the oxygen like a smoker would with a cigarette. She and Georgia were playing 'it' with their brother, Richard; Emma was about five at the time. Georgie had just tagged her younger sister and Emma tried running after her two siblings but couldn't catch up with the either of them. After a couple minutes of frantic chasing, she started to cry because of the 'it' burden making her seem like a child with a disease. After seeing her sister's distress, the older sister started to run slower to let her sister catch up but not make it obvious that she had done it deliberately. Emma caught up and patted her on the back and screamed 'it', Georgie giggled and replied 'oh no, Em, you've caught me.'

Emma exhaled, the memory flickering through her mind in a matter of seconds. She took another breath. Georgie had just gotten her first kiss, she was fifteen and Emma was nine, they were both giggling in the older girl's room, both lying on their fronts on the double bed. His name was Flynn and he was extremely good looking. Georgie though she was in love and her and Emma were planning her wedding day for when she would marry the boy she had only started dating. She had told Emma that she would be her maid of honour and she had gone to sleep that night dreaming of the wedding that would surely happen in the near future.

She exhaled and then inhaled one more time. Georgie was ill, Emma was visiting her in hospital whilst mummy and daddy had gone to complain to the doctor about why Georgia was not getting any better. Emma was lying in the bed with her older sister and they were dialling a number on Georgia's old phone. They had the yellow book pages on the two of their laps and were randomly selecting numbers from it. They had just rung a furniture store to complain that their furniture had just begun magically floating in the air. The man had gotten so angry at the two of them for playing jokes that he had threatened to report them to the police, although the girls did nothing but laugh at him.

She exhaled for the last time; she was smiling lightly before letting out a laugh. The laugh felt strangely satisfying, like she was in a state of ecstasy for a mere few seconds. But the usual emotion of sadness came back all too soon, tumbling down into her stomach and wiping the smile off of her face. She had been pretending to be alright for so long, every day in school, every hour she spent at home, constantly pretending with the Winchesters. She thought she could manage that, she thought she could act normally. But now the truth was out, and trying to not act sad and it was like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube. Maybe she didn't want to pretend anymore or maybe she did. She just didn't know.

X

She changed into a black skater skirt with a white shirt and putting her hair in a high ponytail. She applied the makeup, more heavily than she intended, to her face before smothering it with eye liner and mascara. She slowly made her way to next door and knocked on the rectangle piece of wood softly. Sam answered the door.

"Hi." He smiled gently, letting her in the motel room. "Are you better?"

"Yeah…no." she said with a sad smile.

"It's okay…you don't have to pretend anymore remember."

Emma nodded, looking down at the motel carpet. "I'm sorry for shouting at you earlier. Things got a bit intense."

"It's fine, seeing after what you went through, you acted more humane than I expected." Sam admitted with a quiet laugh. Emma grinned for a second before going to hug the taller hunter. He held her tight, resting his head on top of hers before going to kiss her forehead lightly. They broke apart just as the oldest brother emerged out of the bathroom.

"Hey Em." Dean greeted. "I hope you haven't packed your bags."

"Why?" she asked, a hint of excitement in her voice, the brother's mysteriousness taking away the sadness from the atmosphere for a brief moment.

"Well I learned that 'if you can make a girl laugh you can make her do anything?'"

"And where did you get that quote from Dean?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Marilyn Monroe…what guys can have guilty pleasures too." He defended after seeing Sam's humoured expression.

"And so what are you going to do?" Emma asked curiously.

"Well we can take a break from the road for one day…I mean don't think that spending the whole day riding in baby is a good way to help you get back on your feet. We can do whatever you wanna do…unless it's having some girly slumber party with ice cream and…pillow fights."

Emma giggled and Dean's unwanted suggestion. "I was thinking maybe we could…go to...somewhere loud and full of people." She knew that her proposal was in no way specific or probably helpful in anyway.

"Loud and full of people…" the older brother repeated humourously.

"I think we can manage that." The younger hunter finished.

"How 'bout we go for the old, traditional Winchester gambling spree?" Dean suggested.

"Sounds…good," Emma replied with a hint of happiness in her eyes. She needed a getaway.

X

"How about if I win this game of pool, I get my one-hundred and fifty dollars back?" Dean suggested to his opponent in a busy, dim-lighted bar. It was around eleven at night and Emma admitted to herself that it had been a good day, seeing as it had made her take her mind out of Georgie for a while at least.

"Why would we want to play against you again?" The older brother's opponent questioned. "We've already beat you three times."

"But if you win," the hunter continued. "You keep the money and you also get this on top." Sam took out a rolled wad of at least ten twenties and threw it onto the green lake of velvet lying across the pool table. "C'mon, what do you scared of?"

"Okay, me and Brent are on." The other said.

Sam and Dean were playing a game of pool against two body-builder-like men, with dangerously biceps and veins popping out under their skin like there was no tomorrow. The one called Brent had a big, red straggly beard with blood shot eyes; the other, Max, was beardless but had a thick brown brush for a moustache and ears half the length of his face.

Emma was standing next to Sam, she had been watching these four play for forty-five minutes and still really understand how people could be so interested in the game, she was more of a foosball girl. She wondered why the boys were still trying to gamble their money back, they either had clever scheme or they were idiots.

After five minutes, it was obvious that they would not win. These boys may be good at hunting the supernatural but they were not good at this.

"I told you Dean, we should've quit after the second game." Sam snapped in frustration, after Dean accidentally shot the white ball into one of the holes.

"Stop being boring." Dean laughed, taking a huge swig from his beer bottle, making Emma feel like their foolishness may have been because of the alcohol. "Okay." He said, slurring slightly. "This is the la-a-st game of the night, so let's throw some spice into whatever-r-r this is." he took out a fifty-dollar bill and waved it in front of Max's face.

Max was about to take it with his avaricious paws but Sam snatched it off him first. "We're not going to keep on gambling money…unless they pay something as well."

"Okay." The moustached man agreed. "Brent, put a hundred in."

"Twoooo hundred." Dean slurred heavily.

"Two hundred, whatever, it's not like they're going to win." Brent laughed, putting a two hundred in the pile of money and Sam added the fifty. Max shook the taller hunter's hand and the deal was set.

"Sorry lil lady, you're gonna have to see your guys lose…again." Max howled in Emma's direction, she laughed slightly but did feel quite nervous for the two.

"Yeah we'll see about that." Dean said with a smirk.

He aimed to shoot before hitting the white ball. Miraculously, unlike all of the other times, two of the balls sored off in different directions and fell through two of the holes.

"Oh wow, I think I just got better." Dean said in surprise, winking slyly at Emma, who felt her mouth drop in shock as she realised she had also fallen into the boys' act.

"You cheat!" Max yelled angrily, getting his beer bottle and threatened to throw it at the liar.

"A bet's a bet." Sam answered. "We haven't won yet, you still can."

"C'mon Max, we're still ahead." Brent encouraged the enraged man. The other man slammed the bottle down on the table angrily before going to shoot.

The two didn't stay 'ahead' for that much longer, Sam and Dean were equally talented at pool as each other and twice as skilful as the other two. Emma suspected it was because most of their life included aiming guns. They won the game less than ten minutes later.

"I think that's our gold." Dean beamed like a child before going to take all of the winnings.

"You may have won but that's not going to stop me kicking your ass." Max warned, marching over to Dean and grabbing his shirt collar.

"Max," Brent growled, making his friend drop Dean back down. "C'mon let's go."

Max glared at the two brothers angrily once more before making his way out of the bar. Brent also looked at the two, he was about to leave but then turned around and punched Dean under his left eye before following his friend, in a hurry, to an exit.

"God, Dean are you alright?" Emma asked him in a worry.

"Yeah," he said in a jolly tone, going to touch his damaged skin with a humoured look on his face. "It was worth two hundred of these bad boys." He said, holding up the winnings and the money they had also managed to retain up in the air. "Who wants a beer cos honestly I don't mind getting drunk tonight? Emma?"

"Alcohol?" the redhead asked.

"No, I was thinking more like apple juice from the kids' menu." Dean retorted sarcastically. "Of course alcohol, I mean you are _twenty-three_ aren't you, might as well have a lil fun."

"Wow I think you are the first adults I've ever met that have encouraged me to drink underage."

"So, three beers it is? You guys go get a booth, I'll this party running." He grinned before going to the bar. Sam and Emma found a deserted booth about forty feet away. It had soft red, leather seats and then a picture of a wide man standing the bar beaming was hanging on the wall beside them on Emma's right.

"So, has it been a good day?"

"Yeah I think so." she grinned. Thinking back at what had happened over the last ten hours, most of it spent in a casino, addicted to the many games that managed to hook you in, luring you into their traps. "How much money did we make?"

"Around five hundred dollars,"

"And loss?"

"Around five hundred,"

"So, no profit?" she giggled.

"Not really," he chuckled.

"And do your little cheats normally have that cause and effect?" she said, pointing to the bottom of her right eye where Dean was hit.

"Sometimes, normally worse, let's just leave it at guys don't like it when they lose."

"I can imagine."

"So, are you feeling better?" Sam asked, his voice turning soft.

Emma nodded in mute. "Yeah, I think I'll be fine… this day's helped a lot."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling slightly.

"So, has a posh girl like you ever drunk a beer before?" Sam questioned changing the subject to avoid Emma's happiness being disrupted.

"I have actually," Emma answered with a giggle. "At Jane's sweet sixteen she had this house party thing in the summer and her parents were literally shouting at her in front of at least fifty of her classmates when they found out that alcohol was included."

"And you drank some?" he asked in false-shock.

"Hey, I only had one can of beer."

"Did you like it?"

"No not really, I just thought it was cool back then." She admitted, making Sam laugh.

"What was cool back when?" Dean asked, coming to join them with three beers.

"Nothing, just telling Sam the first time I drank beer."

"Ooh feisty, well let's see if this one can kick that one's ass." He said, handing her an open bottle.

X

The two brothers got through two more beers after that. Emma had stopped after one and a half; the bitter liquid would take a while to get used to. The brothers were obviously use to the strong drink as they got through their bottles as quick as it took a hungry man to eat a loaf of bread then even moved on to whiskey.

"Okay, last round." Sam announced.

"Emma, your turn." Dean said before pointing at her lazily.

"Hey I'm not even drinking!" the redhead defended.

"Don't care, I'm driving."

"And I'm slightly concerned about that now." She acknowledged before taking a twenty from him and walking to the bar.

"Two Guinesses please." She said to the bartender.

"Coming right up." he answered, she felt quite surprised that he didn't ask for her ID.

"Hey Mr, I gotta question for you." A drunken man on one of the stools on the other end shouted, distracting the man from pouring the drinks. "Can I buy the little lady a drink?" she heard a slow voice in her right ear. She turned around to see a tall, lanky man in his thirties with black, floppy hair.

"No thanks." She smiled awkwardly at him.

"Don't be a bitch, let me buy you a drink." He said irritably.

"Again, no thank you." She said firmly.

The man grabbed her hand. "Hey." She snapped, trying to tug it away but he held onto it.

"My ex-wife had hands like these. She was pretty too."

"Can you let me go please?" she asked calmly, even though she didn't feel it.

"She's been cheating on me, you know, diiiidn't even tell me, I had to find out myself. You'rrre going to be my revenge plan."

"I'm not going to be _your_ anything. You're drunk so just go home."

"Women, always disobeying me." He shouted, gripping her arm tighter. "Why can't they do what they're told." He said loudly, almost shouting. "What did I do? HUH?" he pulled her body closer so their eyes were centre metres apart. "Your eyes are like hers too."

"What's going on?" Dean asked dangerously, coming to join Emma and the man, Sam quickly caught up with his brother.

"Good timing." Emma said in relief.

"This is none of your business, man." The man snapped angrily at the hunter.

"It is if you're she's involved. Let her go."

"What if I don't want to."

"Then we'll make you." Sam answered cautiously.

"Why is my life so unfair tonight?" he moaned, his grip not loosening but slowly getting tighter.

"Come on pal, why don't you go home and sober up? She don't need this from you tonight." Dean tried to negotiate.

"Oh, it's all about the woman is it?" he guffawed, turning to her, pulling her body into his, "Is the story of tonight all about you, huh sweetheart?"

"No," she whispered, smelling the rancid alcohol in his breath.

"She ain't exactly having an apple pie day, pal." Dean defended. "She don't need douches like you ruining it."

"Oh, I'm sorry," he said in mock-apology, "I didn't know the princess was having a rough day. I guess everyone feels sorry for the women…don't matter if they screwed your best friend and lied to you for over a year. No, I guess if little miss perfect is sad, we should all help the pretty girl get her pretty fucking smile back."

"Look, just take it easy, okay." Sam said softly, "Go home, get your mind clear."

"No, I only have tonight." He growled, grip tightening even more, it made Emma wince painfully, the man now almost crushing her hand.

"Hey, let go." Sam yelled, after seeing Emma's aggrieved reaction. He tried to unclasp his hand from hers but he was reluctant to let go, he pulled himself and Emma away from the two hunters.

"I need revenge or she'll win." He said darkly. "Now leave us." He said grip tightening even more. Emma tried to hold back a scream as she felt the bones in her hand come to breaking point, she failed and it came out as a high-pitched cry.

"Can't do that." Dean said before punching the man in the face. He fell backwards but took Emma with him. She finally felt his grip let go of hers as the man let go of her and stood slowly back up to tackle Dean.

Sam quickly went to help Emma up; he led her away from the fight where Dean had just thrown another punch at the man.

"You alright?" he said before taking her hand and studying it.

"Yeah, it just hurt that's all." She replied shakily.

"Right you guys get out of here before I call the police." The bartender shouted at the three of them after seeing Dean knock the guy out unconscious.

X

"Fricken bastard!" Dean swore as they left into the cold night. "Thinking he could treat you like that. Did he hurt you?"

"No, well a bit but it's okay." Emma tried to reassure him supporting her hurt hand with the other.

"No, it's not. Let's see." Dean said before pulling out a small flashlight from his leather jacket pocket. He shone it on the top of her hand before touching it lightly with his fingers, they had deep fingerprints and there were sharp engravings of his fingernails. He turned it over on to her palm which was a harsh red from where the other man's palm had been forced against her. "It should be okay, maybe a bit bruised but it's not broken. Luckily for that guy, I would have killed him if he hurt you. If anything like that happens to you again, scream, Emma, I don't care if we're right next to you, you scream as soon as you feel scared, Sam and I will be there in a heartbeat, I promise you." He assured as they reached the Impala.

"Thanks." She said softly. "And thank you for saving me." She went to kiss him on the cheek before going to give Sam one before getting in the back of the car. The brothers were right. She had been raised to not ask for help and deal with things herself, in order to not cause an inconvenience to others. But now, by not letting them lend her a hand metaphorically, it had resulted in her physical one getting harmed. Maybe, just maybe, the Winchesters had the capability to protect her from more than demons.


	27. A String of Disappearances

**Hey guys! Wow, I haven't updated in quite a while…how did that even happen? I think that time is going too quickly these days…**

 **To apologise for my absence these past few weeks, I will upload a chapter on Saturday (today), Monday, Wednesday, Friday and the following Sunday!**

 **Anyway, here's the next chapter with a new case! I hope you enjoy and please follow/ and favourite if you did and please, please, please review!**

After packing her duffle bag, Emma headed to boys' motel room at ten the next morning. Sam and Dean were both still stuffing clothes inside their luggage carriers.

"Good morning," she beamed as she entered their room and dropped the bag by the door, letting the thud of the bag announce that it was a new day with different opportunities.

"Hey," Sam greeted.

"How's are ya?" Dean asked, walking over to redhead and grabbing her right hand. The effects from yesterday's events were shown more clearly now in the daylight compared to last night's gloomy darkness. It was sore and tender, she could barely move it, she supposed her hand would be sensitive for the next week or so. It was sprinkled with red bruises that had finely blossomed around her knuckles.

"Better." She answered even though it was a lie, she could still feel the stranger grasping onto it in her mind.

"Better my ass." The older brother grumbled.

"So where today?" she asked, wanting to get off the topic of the unexpected incident from last night.

"Chicago, we found a monster there." Sam explained.

"Not a ghost?" she raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"We don't think so." he said, walking forward to give her a newspaper before showing her an article on page three.

' _Still missing: Alice Jones, Ross Fletcher and Jake Goldberg. The search is still on to find these three missing persons, whose disappearances are believed to be linked. All victims are from North Chicago. The first to go missing was Ms Alice Jones who was last seen getting in her car at 9pm to leave work for home on Monday night. The second Ross Fletcher disappeared while washing his car at 10pm and finally, Jake Goldberg who was last seen at his local grocery store at approximately 11pm. Police suspect that they are kidnappings and that these disappearing are sure to continue. If you have any information please contact the Chicago police force.'_

"What's to suggest that this isn't a psychopath's kidnapping spree?" Emma questioned.

"Already thought about that and there were incidents about ten years previously and then ten years before that and well the it goes on and on, all disappearances. No bodies were ever found but they were also in Chicago." Sam answered.

"Do you have any idea what creature it could be?"

"Nope, many monsters kidnap humans for many different reasons." Dean replied.

"Chicago, it is then." She sighed, knowing that this place would be another long car journey. However, she was happy to finally leave Oklahoma, the place where Sam and Dean had found out her secret and where her hand was almost crushed by a drunken idiot.

X

Before they knew it, they were in Chicago, twelve long hours later. They did the usual routine: get to the motel, drop off the bags and then go off to a nearby diner. Even though it still wasn't anything like the classy hotels she would go to when the Violas went on their annual holidays to the South of France or Spanish Islands or Venice, the motel room was reasonably better than the last one she stayed at. The colour scheme was red and black with a cherry red duvet, resting on the bed, matching the walls leaving the furniture and bed frame and everything else as black as coal. It may have had shared some of the same look as a place that two people would find themselves when all morals abandoned them, but it was certainly in a quieter and safer area. She was staying in her own room again and hoped these walls were thicker than last time, in case Sam and Dean started fighting again. Emma admitted to herself that she was terrified that they would pull that stunt again but they had ensured her that they would never battle about something stupid again while she was there. And weirdly enough, she found herself trusting the Winchesters easily so she seemed to simply believe them.

X

Heading to the boy's room the next morning at nine, she found herself gaining enthusiastic curiosity about the case- and that must've been a positive sign as her nerves were decreasing with every supernatural being she face. Surprisingly, she had also gotten better at waking up early and was more or less back into her school routine.

"Hey Em," Dean greeted with a wide grin when he saw her enter the motel room.

"Hi," she replied. "So, what's the news?" she went, going to sit at the motel table where both of the Winchesters were sitting.

"We still have no idea in hell what this thing is," Sam self-proclaimed.

"So, what do you know?"

"We know that its target audience is young people, all of the 'kidnappees' were aged between twenty-one and thirty, even the ones that were kidnapped decades ago." Dean explained.

"What's the plan then?"

"We go to the crime scene, see exactly where the person was taken, go to the witnesses and then see if there are any connections." Sam explained.

X

They headed to the first location where Alice Jones went missing, which was in the car park outside her work place. The parking lot was behind a big, grey building that belonged to an advertising company. The three agents suspected that the area where Ms Jones went missing was the parking space covered in flowers, soft toys and candles. They headed to 34D where all of the memorial collectables were resting. There was a picture of Alice right in the centre in a huge silver frame, the perimeter of it was protected by small tea lights in lanterns, and some of them had still maintained their flame, the few lucky survivals of the rain. It was pouring heavily and the small river that had now formed was running down the small drain beside their feet. This scene sadly reminded Emma of when Georgie died, hundreds of members of family and friends arrived at their mansion to deliver their respect, most of them presented in flowers or cards, some of them even had the nerve to give them money. She looked away from the photo of Alice Jones, who was a young, pretty lady with short, hazelnut coloured hair, knowing how it felt to miss someone truly loved and wondering how anything so horrible could happen to a promoter of happiness.

"So, what thing could have found their miserable ass here?" Dean asked.

"It could be anything, a werewolf, a vampire, maybe a shifter, anything that can steal a person and get away with it."

Dean nodded with a grimace, knowing that this case would be difficult. Emma saw a woman walking towards the scene, young looking with lightly curled caramel hair, her wide frame standing under an umbrella.

"Oh hi, you must be friends of Alice." She said with a happy smile that didn't hide her sadness.

"Yeah, we were good friends." Dean lied.

"It's a shame about what happened to her." Sam said softly.

"I couldn't believe what happened… I still can't. I'm her girlfriend- fiancé actually; we were going to get married this April."

"I'm sorry for your loss."

"It's just like, one day you're fine and the next everything has changed before you even realise it."

"She might come back." Emma said hopefully, at least this woman didn't know her love one was gone for good.

"I know how life works." the girlfriend said softly. "I've come to terms, I just like to come here every day, see the beautiful things people have left, read their letters, relight the candles, it helps."

Emma nodded in agreement; she used to go to Georgie's grave as much as she could, even after her mother forbade it.

"Can you tell us anything about it…we're still shocked." Sam asked, trying to seem innocent.

"She was on her way back, she was working late that night…I should have come out to meet her, made sure she was safe."

"It wasn't your fault." Dean reassured her, glancing at Emma for a split second before returning back to the girlfriend, who nodded before continuing to speak.

"It was funny, the next two days, thinking she had just left town but then I started to get concerned, I called the police and they started searching. They found the CCTV footage of her going to her car…it showed a figure going to grab her but then they both disappeared in a blink of an eye…the tape must've been manipulated or something."

"Wow, that's, that's weird and a half." Dean said, trying to sound as shocked as possible.

"We'll leave you to it." Sam grinned softly at the girl standing under the umbrella before they all headed off back to the car.

"Okay, we're going to go find that CCTV tape." Dean decided.

"Did…did she say that Alice was her _girlfriend_?" Emma curiously asked.

"Yeah…why?" Sam frowned.

"No- no reason. I've just never met a woman dating another woman before."

"Really?" Dean humorously asked. "Cos I've got a few magazines that-"

"What Dean is trying to say," Sam continued after nudging his brother suddenly, "Is that it's totally normal now."

"Wow- I didn't even know the word 'lesbian' until Frankie called Jane one in year ten. But then it kind of got confusing when they began dating in year eleven." Emma pondered.

"Woah, your grandmother really is the queen." Dean chuckled. "Let me guess- you were taught that being gay was something you'd 'rot in hell for all of eternity' for?"

"We actually weren't told anything."

"Hey, look, Sammy, someone has a childhood even more confusing than ours!"

"I guess there are some aspects of reality that I'm still estranged from. It just seemed a little odd to me…girl and girl."

"What compared to ghosts and demons?" Sam chuckled.

"I think it's just 'cos Em here was born and raised in traditional England. But Americas for the land of the free sweetheart- you can be what you can be and you can do whoever the hell." Dean shrugged. "That's freewill."

"I guess freewill does sound pretty nice." Emma shrugged.

X

They travelled to the police station, even though the rain had made them look rather unprofessional with wet hair and soaked clothes. After the whole fake ID thing, to prove they were FBI, they made their way into the station followed by the chief, officer Galloway.

"So why are they sending me more of you lot, I've got plenty already here." He questioned to the three.

"The government are getting more concerned with these disappearances; they want you to have as much help in order to stop this monster." Sam lied.

"Yes, well I suppose that we can have a bit more help for a day or two. So, you wanted to see the CCTV footage of Alice Jones' kidnap?"

"Yes sir,"

"Okay, Eliza!" Chief Galloway called across the room full of police officers. A young lady walked over to the hunters and the chief. She had a young face, maybe the age of twenty-three, her eyes were heavily made up in black eyeshadow and mascara and her lips were painted a ravishing-red, her sandy coloured hair came up to her mid-waist.

"Yes Chief?" she answered.

"Take these agents and show them the recording of Alice Jones."

"Yes sir." She answered. "Alright, follow me." She said lightly before taking the three of them to her office.

It was quite a large office, with a massive desk placed in the middle with a luxurious looking black, leather chair. She sat down at the desk, staring up as if she was beckoning entertainment.

"I'm Eliza by the way." She introduced, she looked at Sam with a tight grin on her face. "Or also known as Galloway's slave- well he treats us all like that- I'm the one who works with technology here. I'm guessing you're also attempting to discover the mystery behind these disappearances?"

"Yeah." Sam answered. "We need to see the CCTV footage."

"Well that, I can do for you." She said smoothly, eyes digging into Sam's, who coughed to hide his anxiety.

"Yeah, we all need it." Dean said quickly after seeing that Eliza's interest was all on his little brother. The woman turned to him and gave him a flirtatious smile. "Well I'm sure I can help you both out."

Emma raised her eyebrows, she knew that these boys were attracted to Eliza but was she seriously seducing both of them simultaneously?

"Here's the footage." She informed, pulling up the video shown from a security camera.

It was grainy but the footage showed Alice walking to her car in the darkness, the only light source coming from the street lights. Whilst Alice was searching through her large handbag before pulling out her car key, a figure came up behind her, identity hidden in the shadows and then grabbing Alice's body before the two were gone. Eliza paused the video before she turned back to them.

"Mystery, isn't it?" Eliza cooed.

"What if we," Sam started before taking the computer mouse from Eliza and zoomed in on the video before playing it again.

"And then," Eliza said, putting her hand on top of Sam's on the mouse and pausing it before enlarging the shadowed figure, their identity still remained hidden as they couldn't find any details, it was all black. "I think, whoever this person is, is pretty good at kidnapping." She admitted before looking at Sam, their faces centimetres apart.

"Yeah, I-I think they are." Sam nervously stuttered. They remained staring for a few, long seconds before Dean coughed.

"Well I think that's all we need thanks." He stated, relieving Emma of watching this awkward meet-cute scene.

"Okay, well come back if you need." She whispered to Sam before taking her hand off his. Sam chuckled nervously before getting up; he tripped on the chair on his way, making him blush furiously as he left.

"Wow, she is into you!" Dean said excitedly as they walked out of the station and in to the rain. "I mean she was obviously attracted to me as well, who isn't? But she was giving you the sex eyes."

"Really?" Sam asked his brother nervously.

"Yeah, why the hell didn't you ask for her number?"

"I don't know I forgot…you really think she likes me?" he said, now turning to Emma for her opinion.

"Yeah." Emma admitted. "Why don't you go back and ask her out?"

"Nope, he's blown his chance." Dean answered for her.

"Why, she probably wanted him to."

"Guys never go back, it's then or never. Otherwise you just look like a fricken idiot."

Emma shook her head, _guys_.


	28. Mermaids and Shadow Monsters

They went to the next location which was about half a mile away from Alice's disappearance. It was in an outside hand-car wash in a petrol station. Again, there were flowers and letters resting on the outside of the petrol shop. Walking over to the place where Ross Fletcher had disappeared, they found another man washing his car, water spilling off the car and joining in with the stream the rain had made and making their way to the drain, spilling down it like faded dreams into the gutter. The man looked at them in confusion as they studied him washing his silver Ford.

"Sorry pal." Dean apologized before they went to the petrol shop.

"Nothing seemed off here too." Sam answered. "It's just a normal place."

"Yeah, well I bet a thousand bucks it's not."

They walked into the petrol shop and went over to the man at the counter.

"FBI." Dean said, holding up his badge, followed by Sam and Emma.

"You here about that guy? That guy who went off vanishing?"

"Yes." Sam answered.

"Well I'll tell you what I told the cops a few days back. I was working here when he came, he was just washing his car like any other guy- well, who washes their car in the middle of the night- but then I heard a clash and the bucket and sponge was on the floor, he was gone and I have no idea where."

"And you're sure you didn't see anyone else here?"

"No, just him."

"Okay, thank you for your time." Sam smiled before they left the shop.

"Talk about difficult." Dean sighed.

"We still have one more place to go." Emma said, still hopeful of this last location having the answers to all of their questions.

"And that place better be fricken helpful." Dean warned before they got into the impala.

X

The last location was about a mile south from the previous, at the grocery store where Jake Goldberg was last seen. Like the others, there was a small shrine lying at the foot of the small shop. They entered the grocery store and went to the woman at the till. Holding up their badges, the woman soon realised what the boys had arrived for.

"I was working here when he disappeared." She answered. "He only came in here for a carton of milk, about a minute after he left, I heard a yell. Almost ran out of the shop but there was nothing there but the carton of milk on the floor."

"It was the shadow lady." A high-pitched voice said behind them. They all turned around to see a little girl in a green dress with pigtails.

"Sophia, what did I tell you last time?" the woman, who Emma suspected as the little girl's mother, snapped. "Don't tell lies to the police."

"But it wasn't a lie!" she said angrily.

Sam laughed slightly before kneeling down and smiling at the little girl. "What shadow lady?"

"She was outside, I saw her when I was playing with my dolls, she went behind that tall man and then turned into a shadow and grabbed him. It was scary."

"What did this lady look like?"

"She was really pretty and she looked like a princess. You look like Ariel!" she said in excitement to Emma, who burst into laughter. "And you look like Prince Charming." She said to Dean who gave a smug look in retort to the compliment.

"Thank you." Sam said before standing up and turning to his two colleagues and giving them a confused yet interested expression.

"So, this monster is a woman who can turn into a shadow?" Dean asked after leaving the shop.

"It makes sense, the CCTV showed a shadow grabbing Alice."

"Yeah but how would they get away, she grabbed them but then she disappeared?"

Emma stood on something that made her stop in her tracks. "Guys." She called to the two brothers, who were still walking.

"I don't know, maybe she-"

"Guys." She called louder, this time the brothers stopped and around before walking back to Emma.

"What?" Dean asked.

Emma answered by looking down at the thing she was standing by. A storm drain. Sam's face lit up in realisation but Dean's face was still crinkled in confusion.

"What?" he repeated.

"The drains," Sam answered, "amazing Emma!"

"There were drains by all of the places they went missing." The redhead acknowledged.

"What? We're chasing fricken Pennywise now?"

"Who?"

"I mean- cliché or not- it's a logical answer." Sam grinned.

"I think we've got our monster's getaway." Dean grinned before punching Emma on the shoulder joyfully.

"So, what do we do, explore the sewage system?" Emma asked, face creasing in disgust at the thought of that.

"No, not yet," Dean answered.

"So, we will eventually?"

"Yeah if we want to kill this bitch,"

" _Great_." Emma sighed in a sarcastic tone, knowing that sooner or later she would have to go exploring sewers.

"Aw, don't worry, sweetheart." Dean chuckled. "Why don't you stay on your happy greener side of the field."

Emma sighed tiredly. "So, what do we do?"

Sam answered by going to get his cell and dialling the man's number. "Hey Bobby." He answered a few seconds later.

" _Hey Sam, how are the three of you these days? Emma still alive?"_ The old man replied through the receiver.

"Yeah she's fine." Sam said with a chuckle. "We're gonna need you to research something for us."

" _No surprise there."_

"We need to find out what type of monster lives in places like sewers and can turn into shadows."

" _I don't think I've ever heard that combination before…but I'll give it a go."_

"Thanks Bobby." Sam said before hanging up the phone before the man could say goodbye.

"What do we do, wait for him to ring back?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, but in the meantime, we eat. I'm fricken starving." The older brother announced.

X

They were at a pizza gourmet in town a matter of minutes later, hungry stomachs bellowing them to the closest food source possible.

"Just wait until you try Chicago pizza Emma, best frigging thing ever!" Dean said in excitement.

"Sounds fattening to me," Emma laughed.

"I don't care, it's heaven. Pizza and _pie_ , it's worth dying for."

Sam laughed at his brother's food obsession before his smile turned stiff. Eliza had just walked into the restaurant.

"Woah Sammy, it's your girlfriend." Dean cooed jokily, Emma turned around to see Eliza with the same flirtatious look on her face.

"Dean shut up." Sam said nervously.

Eliza soon saw all of the eyes on her and walked over to the three agents.

"Fancy seeing you here." She said smoothly, eyes on Sam once more. "It's fate."

Sam laughed anxiously before Dean jabbed him in the side, making him yell and stand up to avoid his brother's cruel elbow.

"Can- Can I talk to you?" he asked Eliza.

"Yeah sure." She grinned.

He took her to the other side of the restaurant before asking "would- would you like to have a drink with me, soon? You- you know- cos I'm not going to be here for that long."

"And I thought you'd never ask." She grinned dangerously. "I would love to."

"Great!" Sam beamed.

"Meet me here, at midnight. But don't tell the other guy, I think he's jealous."

"I guess that I'll see you tonight." he said before being surprised with kiss on the lips.

"What did she say?" Emma asked excitedly once he returned to his seat.

"She has a boyfriend." He said in fake disappointment, knowing that Dean would only be envious if he found out about the chance of his brother having sex that night.

X

Sam left the motel at quarter to midnight that night, exhausted from that day's work, Emma and Dean went to sleep about an hour ago. He took the Impala and made his way to the pizza parlour where he and Eliza had decided to meet. He was excited to meet her, she seemed dark, sexy, secretive, hiding endless possibilities that could come out of tonight's encounter.

Parking the Impala, he stood outside the place where they both were a matter of hours ago. It had just turned midnight and it was freezing outside, the cold March air being cruel to his skin. looking around to see if she was in sight, it was clear that there was nobody there.

Suddenly, someone wrapped their hands around his waist and pulled him tightly, he used his legs to kick at the attacker, but there was nothing to make contact with. He then felt something bite the nape of his neck before his vision went black and he fell into a deep, thick unconsciousness. That wasn't a possibility that had excitedly rushed through his mind…


	29. The Hunter becomes the Hostage

The soreness on his wrists and ankles was the first thing that he realised, the feeling of something irritating them caused him to try and take them away to try and get rid of the pain. He couldn't. His wrists were tied together with a thick metal chain whilst his feet were bound to the chair with rope. He groaned, putting his head against the top of the wooden seat that he was trapped to. What had happened? He didn't remember half of it. Hell, he didn't recall anything.

Sam opened his eyes as the light hit his eyelids and a muffle of noise disrupted his ears before it slowly turned sharper. The sounds became more distinct, dripping, like water onto the floor; the shifting of others moving around- were they rats or people? His blurred vision became of higher definition and he started focusing on some of the details of the room.

The walls were a light brown as well as the floor and it unfortunately smelled exactly how it looked. He also realised that he was in a tunnel, the walls were curved and in the shape of a semi-circle, the tunnel went on in a straight line into the darkness. There were several yellow lights on the sides of the ceiling giving off a dim, sickly light. There was also thick, large pipes on top of the ceiling, some of the fluids inside dripping on the floor, making an annoying, high pitched splats every few seconds. He was tied to a chair and pushed painfully into a wooden table in the middle of this mysterious chamber. But he wasn't alone and there were three other people there, people he recognized. At the table, joining him were a sleeping Alice Jones and Jake Goldberg and a conscious Ross Fletcher looking at the floor.

"Hey," Sam said quietly, catching his attention. "You're Ross Fletcher."

"You know who I am?" he asked curiously, his voice was hoarse and weak. He looked like he was in his early twenties with big ears and massive brown eyes.

"Yeah, you're on the news. You went missing a few days ago."

"Only?" he asked in disappointment. "It feels like it's been a year already."

"What happens here?" Sam asked curiously.

"She makes us…play with her."

"Who?"

"The lady."

"What-what lady?"

"Sam, you're awake!" he heard a voice behind him, a smooth voice he knew all too well.

Eliza came to Sam's side before leaning down and smiling at him widely.

"You." He spat angrily.

"Yes, Sammy, me." She beamed. "Everyone wake up!" she shouted, causing Alice and Jake to snap their eyes open in a heartbeat. "Good, you're getting better at it. This is our newest guest and family member: Sam Winchester. He's an agent, who was trying to take you guys away from me." She announced with a sly grin on her face. "Ironic isn't it."

"You better listen to me." Sam said dangerously. "They'll know I'm gone, I told them exactly where I was going before I left, they'll be searching for you so you better let us the hell go otherwise you're going to pay."

"Oh Sammy, Sammy." She laughed. "You didn't tell anyone remember, it was our little secret."

Sam groaned slightly, putting his head against the top of the chair again, why didn't he tell Dean or Emma. He'd been stupid and now he could only count on his two other agents to save him, using the evidence he'd so reluctantly given to them out of foolishness.

"So why am I here?" he asked sincerely, he was curious about this case after all. "What are you going to do? Make me sit here forever?"

"I'm not here to bore you Sammy, you love me remember? If you didn't then you would have agreed to have had met me yesterday night."

"So, you think I love you?" he asked, laughing slightly.

"You all do, that's why you came to meet me, you signed up for this. I only take people who I know are loyal to me."

"And the people you've kidnapped before, where are they?"

"That's the problem; they never live for as long as I want them to. I take ones in their twenties, they'll live with me for longer but some die of disease or hunger or if they don't show their devotion to me, I kill them." this last statement made all other of them shift uncomfortably and share glances of terror with one another. "But that won't happen, will it." She said to the three of them. "Because you love me don't you."

"Yes!" Jake said eagerly, the other two nodded with him.

"What are you?" Sam asked through squinted eyes. "What kind of creature kidnaps others to feel loved."

Eliza leant down and kissed Sam's lips softly, he pulled away from disgust. She chuckled softly before going to whisper in the hunter's ear exactly what she was, making his eyes widen. She couldn't be, could she?

X

"Hey Dean," Emma greeted as she came into the brother's motel room the next morning.

"Hey Em." The brother welcomed.

"Where's Sam?"

"I don't know, probably at the hair dressers getting his perfectly long locks cut." He guessed, making Emma giggle. "I'll call him." The older brother got out his cell and dialled the other hunter. After it went to voicemail, Dean put the cell down and looked at Emma curiously. "I don't know where he would be, if he goes anywhere for a long time, he normally leaves a note and that boy is addicted to his cell, hates missing a call."

"Strange." Emma admitted.

"Come on, we'll go find him, maybe he's passed out in a bar or something." The brother shrugged before leaving the motel. The Impala was nowhere to be seen in the motel parking lot.

"Where's the car?" Emma asked slowly.

"Oh c'mon!" Dean said angrily. "First he disappears and then he takes baby with him?" he walked back in the motel room and grabbing his phone out again.

"Who are you calling?"

"Someone who can trace my baby and my bitch for a brother back- hi." He said after a person came to him on the phone, his voice turned soft and kind as he talked to the receiver. "I've been an idiot and I let my teenage son go off with my car, can I trace it back please? Yep, it's a black, 1967 Chevy Impala, I know, hell of a car isn't it. Number plate is CNK 800, three. Thanks." He waited in silence for a few long moments before saying "thank you so much," and hung up the phone.

"So, where is it?" Emma asked, hoping Dean had the answer.

"Get this, it's outside that pizza place we were at yesterday."

"Why would he go back there?"

"I have no idea, but something about this doesn't smell right to me," the older brother confessed sceptically.

X

The two went to the place that they had lunch at the day before, the journey feeling slightly longer because they had to walk but mostly due to Dean grumbling the whole way there about the lack of transportation. He said several times that 'this is exactly what cars are supposed to get rid of', making Emma roll her eyes at his laziness.

When they got to the restaurant, Dean saw the car almost immediately before running over to it and stroking the hood with his hand. "It's okay Baby, Dean's here."

"So, where's Sam?" Emma asked, disrupting Dean's moment with Baby.

"Good question."

"Oh shit." Emma whispered.

"What?" Dean asked quickly.

"There's a drain here." She said, walking over to the storm drain by the curb.

"I mean, drains are a common thing." Dean bargained.

"But he hasn't picked up his phone, he snuck out of the room in the middle of the night and now we still can't find him."

"Shit." Dean repeated, coming to join her, looking down the drain, half expecting see his brother to be down there. "I think he's one of the victims."

"What do we do, we don't know what the hell it is."

At this moment, a sharp ringing emerged from Dean's pocket. He quickly went to take it out, hoping it was his little brother but his face grew disappointed when he heard the voice of Bobby instead.

"Bobby, Sam's gone, that son of a bitch took him."

" _Balls!" the older man cursed on the other side of the phone. "Trust you two."_

"Sorry Bobby, but what information have you got?"

" _Well take it this way, I wouldn't call this monster a son of a bitch."_

"So, this thing's a girl?"

" _Not just a girl, a goddess. I know, it sounds pretty out there. The only thing that I could find with a connection of sewers and shadows is the goddess Cloacina."_

"Cloacina, what the hell is she the goddess off?"

" _Sewers_."

" _Sewers_?"

" _Exactly_."

"You're telling me that the goddess of sewers has kidnapped my brother?"

"What?" Emma asked curiously, not being able to hear the full conversation, this sentence did sound out of the blue.

" _Not just the goddess of sewers, sexual intercourse in marriage as well, she was believed in by Romans. God knows why she's in Chicago."_

"Yeah tell me, so how can we kill this stinky bitch?"

" _Well that's the tricky part, you can't technically kill a Roman god, they're immortal but you can get their immortal juice out of the mortal body they're in so to say."_

"Well that's good enough for me, how do you do that?"

" _There are many accounts on how to 'kill' a Roman god, first of all you're going to need something that belonged to one, try an actual weapon because you're going to need to stab her with it, this will have ancient voodoo in them with enough power to kill things as old as her. You then have to get bowl filled with chicken blood and drop the artefact in before summoning an ancient spell, I'll send it to you. This will purify the weapon and will leak out the ancient power hidden within in so to speak."_

"Okay, thanks Bobby."

" _And Dean, this thing is powerful, she's a goddess remember. There's also an ancient Roman prayer that they used to say to her, I'll send you that as well, if you say it three times, it means that she cannot turn into a shadow but she'll still have powers."_

"Okay, thank you Bobby."

" _Okay, make sure you're all alive at the end of the day or so help me."_ The older man chuckled. Dean laughed back before hanging up the phone. "We got work to do." He said gravely. This case would inevitably be a hard one.

X

"Cloacina?" Sam asked as 'Eliza' leant back from him, "Cloacina the goddess of sewage?" Sam remembered learning about Roman gods and goddesses in 5th grade, his teacher at the school he had attended for less than a month. His teacher used Cloacina as a joke for the end of the lesson, making all of the children cackle with laughter at the goddess with such a pathetic title.

"Not just sewage!" she spat angrily. "Why does everyone always think that I'm _just_ that?"

"God-goddess?" Alice stuttered.

"Yes, I'm a goddess," Eliza smiled at Alice.

"Wh-what the hell?" Jake screamed.

"Sewage?" Ross asked in a frightened tone.

"Not just that!" she yelled. "I'm the goddess of intercourse in marriage as well! That's why you're all here- to love me."

"Maybe if you wanted us to- to love you, you wouldn't ke-keep us here." Ross replied.

"Are you questioning me?" Eliza asked dangerously. "Once men prayed to me to keep the Cloaca Maxima protected, they worshipped me! How dare you, a mortal man, question my intentions!"

"So, what's your story Eliza?" Sam asked raising his eyebrows. "You said you were once worshipped what's the story?"

"I was never one of the great goddesses; I was never loved by royalty or anybody that was anybody. I was worshipped by swine! Sewage workers, peasants, lowly creatures, they were the only ones who were devoted to me. But what's the point of being prayed to by people infested with disease?

"As time moved on, my whole family were forgotten, no one worshipped us gods and goddesses anymore. But people still remembered them. Even as myths, Jupiter, Minerva, Neptune, were remembered and people still liked them. _Planets_ became their legacies. But was I remembered? No. Only if I was being referred to as a sick joke like 'guess what, the Romans even had a god for sewage'! ha ha ha. I deserved to be loved, I protected Rome for hundreds of years; they wouldn't survive if the sewage system wasn't functioning.

"I had to come back to earth, to get the love I deserve. Jupiter was supposed to be my father and what love did he show his daughter, making her the goddess of excrement? But down here, I'm loved by all of you!"

"Oh God, I'm going mad!" Alice whispered.

"Why Chicago, you're a _Roman_ goddess?" Sam questioned.

"I couldn't go back and live in Rome! They are the ones that are the most familiar with their ancient god and goddesses. I had to start where nobody knew me, and what better place than Chicago?"

"Look Eliza," Sam said softly. "You're not loved, I get it, it's hard but you can't force people to spend forever with you. It's not worship and it's not love. Times moved on and that's tough but you got to face it rather than make others suffer with you."

"I'm not making you suffer! I am going to take care of you, I love you and as soon as you get to like it here, you're going to love me too. We're going to have fun here!"

Sam closed his eyes painfully; he hoped Dean and Emma would get here as soon as they possibly could.


	30. Mars' Spear

"Alright, I got a guy!" Dean said finally after three long hours of research. It was now two in the afternoon but it had felt like forever staring at the laptop screen in the motel room.

"Really?" Emma asked eagerly, there had been so many false findings and she was praying that Dean was certain.

"Yep, his name is Clive, he has this collection of ancient crap, probably a nerd, anyway he lives about an hour away."

"So what weapon are we looking at?"

"Well this funky dude believes he owns some of Mars' spear."

"Mars's, Mars the Roman god of war?" Emma asked, she remembered learning about that in year three.

"Yeah that guy." Dean answered, obviously confused of the girl's knowledge. "Apparently this spear was the equivalence of Zeus' lightning bolt. I mean, I know who Zeus is," he proudly replied. "He was the guy with the big nipples and abs and the beard."

"A spear sounds like a pretty good weapon." Emma said in oblivion to his comment. "If this spear really used to belong to Mars (and after seeing all that she had so far, she wouldn't be surprised if it did), it may be the perfect answer on how to kill this goddess.

X

After an hour of traffic jams and infuriated drivers, the two finally reached the destination that may just be the answer to their prayers. Seeing as she thought that this 'Clive' person would a kind of person who collected mythical things in his mother's basement, she was surprised when they pulled up outside a mansion. It was a bright white painted house on the far side of a neatly kept lawn, with a three-meter-tall black, metal fence surrounding the outskirts like a cage.

Dean walked over to the gate, which was painted golden as if it was the gateway to heaven. There was a buzzer on a brick wall on the side of the doorway, as well as a keyboard of numbers on a silver metal square and a tiny TV screen. After Dean pressed the buzzer, there was a sharp 'hello' through the speakers and the face of a thin man with retreating grey hair appeared on the screen.

"Hi," Dean announced, leaning down to the screen as it was the height of his chest rather than his eyes.

"I'm sorry, we don't give to charity-"the sharp voice replied.

"No," Dean overtook. "I'm a journalist, Art Weekly, we would like to write an article on mythical objects and we heard you had a few yourself-"

"Oh, really, oh marvellous…can I see some evidence?"

"Of course sir," Dean said before holding up a fake ID, stating that he was called Dean Harrison, a journalist for Art Weekly.

A few seconds later, there was a loud beep and the heavenly gate began to slowly open. They began to walk down the gravel pathway in the middle of the green lawn on the way to the house, which felt like a mile away. The garden was beautifully decorated with two large fountains creating a water show on either side of the house and statues dotted around the lawn perimeter. The front garden display reminded Emma of her second cousin, Dorothy's, house: big, large and all made to make you look like a massive show off, even her parents would have liked to compete with this house's presentation.

"How did you get the ID?" Emma questioned the older man.

"Sam and I had to do a case a few years back where there was haunted picture in the neighbourhood, I always knew I would need this baby again." He said proudly before kissing the fake ID passionately.

"So, do you have a collection of IDs?"

"You bet ya, all in the glove compartment."

"Seems like we're seeing more than one collector nerd today." She grinned before they reached the front door.

The man that they had seen on the screen a few moments ago had appeared at the front door with a large grin on his face. "Hello I am Clive Wrinklewood."

"Hello Mr Wr-Wrinklewood," Dean replied, trying to contain his laughter at the odd sounding surname. "I'm Dean Harrison and this is my partner Emma Jackson, we would be honoured if you let us into your home and let us have a look around…you know for the mythic ner- fans."

"Well of course." He said letting them in. The hallway as big as both Emma and the Winchester's motel rooms combined, with a massive chandelier hanging like a selfish ball of pride from the high ceiling. There were numerous amounts of portraits, which were hanging up on the walls of both of the mirroring staircases, many of them showing Clive on a throne or holding a small animal like a cat or piglet.

"Quite a place you got here." Dean said impressively.

"Well, I try." He said smugly. "I'd like for all of my valuables to feel comfortable and safe at home. Follow me, I shall take you to them." he said before walking through the house and in to the forth room on the right on the ground floor.

The room was more like a mini-museum rather than a normal typical room you'd find in a house as it was full of glass cabinets presenting a variety of artefacts.

"Do you have a notebook or recording device?" Clive asked eagerly.

"No, why?" Dean asked roughly.

"Fo-for the article?"

"Oh, no, no, Emma here is my recording device; she has a memory as good as a…what's an animal with a good memory?"

"Dolphin?" Emma replied.

"Dolphin," Dean said clapping his hands together in triumph. "See, she can even remember that. She has a lot of space in her head, doesn't fill it with the usual useless crap kids do these days."

"Alright well, I've always been a fan of items from history, ever since I was a child, the objects used in the past. Classical items are my favourites but I do have recent objects from the 1950s. At first I started small, collecting coins or pens used by famous authors in history but then one day I found a pot that allegedly belonged to Julius Caesar, he was always my favourite Roman general, along with Mark Antony of course."

"Hey isn't that the guy who screwed Cleopatra?"

"Well…yes, Caesar too, she was the reason that Antony committed suicide, and why Octavian and Marcus thought at the Battle of Actium. You see that if she hadn't caused Antony to divorce Octavia, her brother Octavian wouldn't have-"

"I think we should focus back on the article." Emma intervened.

Looking slightly disappointed at his little history lesson being interrupted, Clive quickly put on a polite smile and nodded his head.

"Right, let me show you some of my favourite artefacts, you said you wanted the things from the legends, didn't you?"

"Sure would." Dean grinned.

"Well," Clive replied, taking them to a see-through cabinet. "This is the bravest arrow out of all the others in the quiver of the famous Euros!" he said wisely, showing an arrow made of fine, aged wood with a rusty, golden tip while the cock feather was now non-existent. He led them on to the next cabinet where a piece of brown, tattered fabric was hanging up. "The Peplos, this was a robe made by the Athenian women to celebrate the Panathenia, a festival in Athens in honour of the goddess Athena's birthday."

"Think you may have said Athens to many times pal." Dean admitted.

"Do you have anything on Mars', his spear…we think that would grab our reader's attention the most?" Emma asked.

"Well yes, a personal favourite of mine!" he said before leading them a few cabinets down. Inside the cabinet was a long, fifty centre meter stick that had an old wood texture and it had a rusty metal arrow tip, which looked sharp enough to make the sword of Attlia cry. "It took me fifteen whole months to track it and then another four until it was mine. Cost me three hundred thousand dollars would you believe it?"

"Three hundred thousand," Dean breathed. "And you spent it on a spear?"

"Well yes, it belonged to Mars."

"Where did you get it from?"

"A museum in Italy, luckily they had turned bankrupt and needed money quick."

"And you really believed it actually belonged to him?"

"They're _myths_." Clive said in an obvious tone with a chuckle. "There are a lot of 'spears of Mars'' out there but this one just had such finite detail, I knew that this was the one to satisfy my pleasure."

"So why spend that much money on a bunch of make-believe crap?" Dean asked, even if he knew that they certainly weren't make believe.

"Because they're my passion, I come in here and I don't see a bunch of junk, I see my soul in a cabinet case, I see the love of my life."

"Thanks pal, I think we got enough info here."

"But I still have so much to show you, the ring of Hera, the rock where-"

"Thanks, but we're on a tight schedule."

"Okay, but you're going to write an article about me right?"

"Sure, thing should be in the new addition of Art Weekly next week." Dean lied.

"Thank you so much!" Clive beamed, "Let me show you out."

They left the mansion and started making their way towards the one-hundred-mile lawn.

"So what now, I'm guessing we're not going to exchange him three hundred thousand dollars for the 'love of his life'?" Emma asked.

"No," Dean chuckled. "We're gonna steal it,"

"Last time I checked, we were hunters not thieves."

"It's easy if you got the right guy and talking of that I got a few calls to make." He said before taking out his cell and dialling a number into it before holding it up to his ear. "Hey Bobby," he said a few moments later.

" _Wow son, second time in a day I feel like such a proud mother." The old man greeted sarcastically. "Better be ringing to tell me you killed this thing and now Sam's 'okey dokey'?"_

"Not quite, on the way to it though. You still know that guy in Illinois, Mike Granger?"

X

Sam was still chained to the seat twelve hours later, back aching against the hard wood and hands irritated and tender from the harsh metal chains. He would give anything if he could just stretch his legs for a second or two, get out of this goddamn position. The temperature also seemed to have felt like it had hit the minus degrees as he was uncontrollably shivering. As he was tiredly sitting in a cold tunnel underground on a March night, while also being starving, the coldness was surely to have found him. The dripping of the water had caused him a headache and the feeling of insanity was already started to crawl into his veins. Why the hell hadn't Dean and Emma shown up yet? How good was this monster from hiding her identity? Maybe it hadn't been that long- maybe the bitter boredom had made time feel ten times longer. Thankfully, Eliza had been gone for about two hours, god knows where she had gone, maybe to hunt a new victim, maybe to resume her fake life as a human who used her body to hide up the fact that she was full of shit.

"I just want to get out of here." Alice admitted in a soft voice, it seems like all of her fear had left her and now all that remained was her tediousness and lack of hope. "I should have never agreed to meet that bitch. How could I have betrayed Julie?" Sam guessed that this was her fiancé. "I'm in love with her for God's sake."

"A few days I would have found you loving another woman sexy but now I can't think about anything but escaping. I've been in here as long as I can take!" Jake admitted

"As long as _you_ can take? I was here first, I was here alone with that freak, but I'm sorry _you_ can't take it." Alice spat angrily.

"Hey don't be an uptight bitch about it!" Ross defended.

"Yeah stop being such girl about it." Alex agreed.

"Well sorry but I am a girl, and still I have more balls then all of you combined." Alice hissed back.

"Guys!" Sam intervened. "Stop fighting it'll only make it worse."

"Says you, you haven't even been here a day!" Ross snapped.

"Yeah, you don't even know the half of what it's like in this hell hole." Jake fought.

"You're right, I don't, I can't compete with you guys but I've been in places like this before and I can tell you that tearing each other apart won't stop whatever's going on here, it will just make your time here more difficult."

"I'm guessing you're not a normal guy?" Alice predicted.

"How'd you guess." He said grimly.

"So, who are you?" Ross asked curiously.

"Let's just say this isn't the first monster I've faced."

Before any of them could answer, Eliza appeared out of the shadows, or maybe she was the shadow all along?

"My loves." She announced with a wide grin. The scent of chicken came to Sam's nostrils, the succulent, delicious aroma of food. She placed two paper bags on the table and took out four pots of soup, one for each of them. "Chicken soup!" she announced. "Don't say I don't treat you. Tell Sam what I gave you yesterday." She said in a patronizing tone.

"Ho-Hot dogs." Jake whispered.

"And?" Eliza asked dangerously.

"And diet coke." Alice finished.

"Today I have orange juice!" she said before pulling out four bottles filled with orange liquid. "Don't say I don't treat you! I want to give my loves the best of the best. But before we eat, I want to play one of our little games. I think we shall play charades, I'll do all of them because I'm the leader." She grinned.

Sam rolled his eyes, he wished Dean and Emma would hurry up and save him; he was tired of this monster's estranged character.

X

It had now struck one am the following morning, the night wrapping itself around the outside the motel room like a blanket of darkness. Emma was lying on her bed, under the duvet and under many layers of clothes, as it was freezing. She felt slightly bad for feeling this way, Sam was most definitely in a sewer and she couldn't begin to imagine how cold that would be. Dean was out getting the 'special order' and he had now been gone for forty minutes, she wished he would hurry up so they could carry on with the task they had to fulfil this night. She was dreading the endless possibilities of what might happen, what if they were caught, what if the police came? Dean may have seemed pretty confident in robbing a rich man's house but it didn't make his plan fool proof.

They had gone uptown to see an old friend of Bobby's, Mike Granger, he was a gadget man. Being a hunter undercover in the government, he could get all sorts devices used by the secret missionary workers. He was a harsh man, who cared about his job a great deal, but as he and Bobby went way back, it put them in a good position and they managed to receive help from the professional. She was surprised about how many powerful hidden people in society Bobby knew, these people were probably the most dangerous yet useful men and women in the country, they were just lucky to be on this one's good side. She wasn't going to lie that she was terrified of the government, she always had. The people that lied to the public in society, the people that had the power over the country they lived in. Never truly knowing who they were, never truly being able to trust them, it reminded her of her parents and the cruel strangers they presented themselves as in her life.

Dean walked through the door, which distracted her from her thoughts, and walked to the table before placing a big brown bag on the table. She slowly went over to the table, abandoning her duvet was a soon realized mistake as she was a furless cheetah in the Antarctic.

"Weird how easy it is to find a man who can sell you illegal chicken blood these days." He said as Emma glanced in the bag to find a big plastic bag full of crimson-red sludge in it. "And I also got a bowl." He said excitably before pulling out a large golden coloured dish. "Only two dollars."

"Wow," Emma said in shock.

"What?"

"I never expected that in my life I would illegally get chicken blood before going to rob a house with government tools in order to save a man who's being kept captive in the sewers by a Roman goddess." She breathed.

"Well don't freak out this is only like a three on the crazy scale for me so far." Dean joked.

"I really don't want to see what you class as a ten." She admitted, making Dean laugh.

"C'mon we got work to do." He replied before they headed into the cold night to rob the weapon that would be able to kill this Roman goddess bitch.

X

"Okay, we're halfway there; I just got to stop off for gas." Dean told Emma as he pulled up into a gas station. They were about thirty-five miles away from Clive's house, who was probably not expecting their company, and Emma was still not prepared for doing this risky task. "Alright, wait in the car." He instructed before getting out and slamming the door behind him.

As he was paying the man at the till, he felt a tap on the shoulder. He turned around to see the woman he recognized very well, as her face was one of beauty and therefore hard to forget. He felt a slick grin appear on his face, and he squinted his eyes to create the impression of him being laid back yet still attracted to her. He put his elbow on the counter and leaned back, his eyes studying her up and down and he saw her eyes to the same study analysis on him.

"Hey Eliza," he said effortlessly. "What you doing out this late?"

"I could ask you the same thing officer." She replied back with a voice as smooth as fifty-year-old scotch. She moved closer towards him and put her right index finger on his chest to draw small circles. "It's such a shame I saw you while I was on duty the other day."

"Well hey, we're both of duty now." Dean pointed out before giving her a smirk. "Anything could happen."

"Anything indeed."

Dean gulped but then his eyes travelled to the window to see the Impala parked outside with Emma sitting in it, making him turn back to Eliza with a hint of disappointment in his eyes. "Weren't you interested in Sam anyway?"

"I was but I could tell that he was a guy who would want commitment." She went close to his ear before whispering "I just want someone to have fun with for one night."

"Damn." Dean let out in a groan, his eyes travelled to Emma again before standing upright and shrugging Eliza off him. "Sorry, I really am, but I can't, I've got to go and-"

"It's fine, I get it but if you change your mind, here's my number." She said before handing him a card.

Dean took it before quickly leaving the shop, his brain telling him to get out before he was distracted by Eliza's temptation and other body parts telling him that he was an idiot for denying her.

X

"Right so we put this lil beauty on here," Dean said, putting a small disk on the metal keyboard where the pin was required in order to open the metal gate to Clive's house. Emma was holding a bright torch to guide Dean to help him with his illegal deeds but she kept on looking around anxiously. It was freezing outside the mansion and Emma was terrified police sirens coming into the noise atmosphere and surrounding them. "And then we press this." Dean said, pressing a small button in the centre; it made the disk glow red and it stuck to the pin keyboard. The disk started beeping loudly, making Emma fear that this thing was a bomb in disguise. After a few seconds, there was a loud click and the gate started to open.

"Remind me what that thing did again?" Emma asked Dean in a relieved but still tense tone.

"It overcame the electrical defences. He may be rich, but this guy doesn't have the best security system money can buy." Dean grinned happily.

They made their way across the long lawn in a hurry.

"So by that you mean-"

"We can steal this thing without alarms going off."

"Yeah but what if he has dogs?"

"Didn't think about that," Dean admitted.

They reached the front door and the Winchester went down on his knees to pick the lock, with the assistance of Emma and the torch. After the door clicked open, they made their way into the large hallway they had been in only a matter of hours before, expect this time they weren't open. The noise of silence reassured Emma as they began making their way to the fourth room on the right, there were no dogs or servants or even a confused Clive. The room was exactly how it was before, with the ancient artefacts and mysterious objects that were believed to be legends.

The two hunters quickly came to find the only object that was in their interest of stealing: Mars's spear. Dean grabbed another device out of his bag, which looked like a scalpel knife but with a diamond tip, and put it on the glass container and put it on the glass surface before making the outline of a large circle.

"Diamond cuts glass," he said excitedly.

"Wouldn't have been easier to just smash it, I mean the alarms are off." Emma asked.

"Because this looked cooler," Dean said sadly, disappointed that his companion didn't find his spy techniques exciting. "I suppose you're not interested in the watch I have on right now which has a laser in it either?"

"It's nice to know you have a nerdy side to you Dean." She cooed.

"Nerd my ass," Dean grumbled. He finished etching the circle and he pushed the centre of it with his knife, it fell to the inside of the container and, even though it was only a few centimetres drop, it smashed, making the noise echo into the corridors. "Shit." Dean whispered before grabbing the spear. "Hey, do you think Mars was compensating for something?"

"Hello?" a voice said a few moments later, it was Clive, they heard his footsteps coming down the stairs.

Quickly grabbing Emma, Dean pulled her behind a giant, stuffed bear in the corner of the room. Clive came into room a few moments later, the light he just turned on showed his state of confusion. He looked around to find the intruders before seeing the smashed glass and empty case.

"No!" he screamed before rushing over to the casket. "I know you're in here. I'm going to call the police, you thieves!"

Dean quietly went to grab a device out of his bag, it was round and black with a red button in the middle, he pressed it before throwing it across the room. It landed on the floor with loud thud and it made a high-pitch sonic sound that pained Emma's ears, it succeeded to do its function as Clive yelled and put his hands over his ears. Feeling Dean's hand grip, hers again, he pulled her out of the room. They ran to the front door and into the cold night, Emma never knew how good the freezing darkness could be, knowing that you were free and could escape without being caught. It was scary but it felt good in a way, the high amount of adrenalin she was feeling made her feel more alive than ever.

Dean jumped into the car, followed by Emma, and started the engine before throwing the spear to his fellow hunter. Turning around to see Clive running across the lawn as fast as he could, she felt slightly sorry for him, they had stolen something he had cared about with all of his heart. But they needed it more than him. The view of the old man disappeared as the car drove away, she had gotten away with her first robbery. The spear was theirs.

"Oh my god." Emma weakened as she slowly sunk down into the chair, her heavy beating heart dragging her down. "I'm a felon!"

"Join the club!" Dean yelled in celebration.

X

"Right let's get this dirt work over and done with." Dean said after they entered his motel room. He quickly grabbed the bag of blood and opened it before pouring half of it into the deep, gold dish. He placed the spear into the bowl but it only fit halfway, he covered it with the rest of the blood.

"What's this spell again?" he asked as he got out the attachment Bobby had sent him. He picked up the dish with his other hand before reading "Kánte aftó to óplo ieró gia álli mia forá kánei tin to ónoma tou megálou theoú ston opoío aníkei kai na eínai stin exousía enós thnitoú anthrópou!" the blood began to bubble and it began wrapping itself tightly around the spear as if it was a charged balloon attracted to a wall. The blood then dropped back into the bowl with a splat, some of it spilling onto the table.

"Well I think that worked." Emma predicted.

"Yeah, we're just going to have to wait to use this bad boy in the morning." Dean said excitedly. "I think it's way past your bed time little lady."

"Fine, I'm leaving, see you in the morning Dean." She said before leaving, not being able to wait until the next day when they would save Sam and everything would be back to normal.

Dean slowly went to retrieve the card Eliza gave him a couple of hours before, his face went into a grin and he grabbed his phone. "Sorry Sam, but a guy's gotta have fun." He said to himself before dialling in her number.


	31. A Pretty Shitty Day

Dean's vision cleared to show the very familiar face of his brother staring at him. Smiling through a killer headache, he said "hey Sammy… weren't you kidnapped?"

"Yep, and I still am, you are too." His brother said with a grimace.

"What?" he replied before looking down to see himself chained to a chair and tucked into a table; he looked at his surroundings to see he was in the sewers or also known as Cloacina's prison, apart from him and Sam, there were three other people slumped in their chairs, all asleep. "Shit! Wait, Emma?"

"She isn't here…please tell me you at least know how to kill this thing so we have a chance of someone saving us?"

"Yeah, we do, we have the weapon and everything; we've just got to count on Emma to kill this crappy goddess bitch."

"It's Eliza," Sam answered.

"Eliza?" Dean repeated before putting his head back in annoyance at himself as he remembered calling up Eliza and her asking him to meet her outside of the motel. He did as she said, she was very enchanting and now he knew exactly why. He remembered something grabbing him before he fell unconscious.

"God, you couldn't have just said no to meeting her?"

"I'm not the _only_ frigging one who made that mistake Sam!" he defended.

"Well," a voice said, distracting the two from arguing any further. "Isn't it Dean, nice of you to join us." Eliza appeared from the darkness and walked over to Dean with a sly grin on her face.

"I'm guessing we're not going to have that one night of fun huh?" the older brother joked.

"We can have forever my darling."

"Well ain't you a bitch of lies."

"Being mean won't get you anywhere." She said in a teacher like voice.

"Sorry sugar but that's just how I roll."

"I like you Dean." She smiled.

"Yeah well guess what, I don't." Dean said smoothly.

"I'm sure we can change that soon enough you'll love me-"

"No, I don't _love_ girls, I never have and never will, I only pretend to. I don't give a rat's ass about you and that will never change."

"Dean-"his brother warned.

"No, let him speak." Eliza interrupted. "It's people like you I hate the most, Dean." She smiled. "Like my worshipers, they didn't love me, they only wanted to stay safe, it's like that with all gods. You will only act to love me because if you do, you will live. But maybe I don't care if the love is real, I only care about people showing me devotion and commitment. So, if you want to stay alive, you will show me love."

Dean furiously looked up at the goddess but nodded, he would only have to fake-love this bitch for a little while, just until Emma came. Where the hell was she?

X

Emma slowly awoke the next morning, she checked the clock hanging on the motel wall to see that it was ten thirty. She quickly got ready before going next door to Dean's room, knowing that this was the day that they finally finished this task. After there was no answer on the door after knocking twice, she twisted the doorknob and was surprised to see that it wasn't locked. The room was empty with no Dean in sight.

She went to see if Dean was in the bathroom or if he had left a note but after finding his cell on the bed, she feared the worst. Had the other Winchester been kidnapped? In a panic, she picked up the cell phone to dial Bobby's number. How did Dean fall into the goddess's trap after finding out exactly what dangerous thing they were hunting?

" _What is it now, son?"_ she heard the grumpy voice of Bobby answer on the other side of the phone, she felt relieved to hear someone she knew.

"Hey Bobby, it's Emma," she replied.

" _Oh, hey Emma," he replied in a more cheerful tone. "how are things?"_

"Not good, Dean's gone, I think he's been kidnapped."

" _Balls! Those boys can't stop getting themselves into the centre of the trap."_

"I know, Bobby what do I do?"

" _Don't worry, I know some good friends who can help you out."_

"No, it's fine, I've got the weapon. I just need to know how to find her."

" _Are you sure?"_

"Yeah, certain." She said, trying to sound confident. With both brothers gone, it was up to her now.

" _Well, it's likely that she'll be in the most convenient place, there's normally a wide space in the centre of sewage system. Try and find a map."_

"Thanks Bobby."

" _Are you sure you'll be alright?"_

"Me, yeah sure, I can follow a map I did DoE." She said trying to sound as professional as someone of her age could possibly be before hanging up. She went to the table where the spear was lying and picked it up. It was time to go kill a goddess.

X

The library was a good way to find a map of the old sewage system so that was the place to go. She found a book called 'The Secrets behind Chicago' and it contained exactly what she needed: a map of the sewage system. There was a point where all of the separate sewage pathways met up and it was in the centre as well so she guessed that this was Cloacina's hiding spot.

After checking to see if anyone was spying on her in the quiet library, Emma slowly ripped out the page and put it in her rucksack along with the spear. She quickly headed out of the building to go onto the next, and more unpleasant part of her mission- even more so than abusing a poor book.

There was a large storm drain by a busy motorway about a mile away; it was a large tunnel leading into darkness with a small lake of water leading into it. She hesitated before stepping into the lake which came up to her ankles, the murky brown colour of the water made her feel queasy but if she wanted to get those two boys safe, she would have to take some sacrifices. Getting out the stolen library map, she checked to see where she was from the predicted location of the Roman goddess. It was about a mile and a half trek and she knew the conditions she was in would only get worse as she proceeded deeper into the sewers. Sighing before she put the map in her back in her bag she started the more pleasant yet still unpleasant side of her journey.

X

She had been walking for an hour and a half now, the tunnels stunk and feet were drenched in freezing cold sludgy water. She remembered how it felt when she was in bed, when she was warm, clean and safe. The thing that made her feel slightly happy was that according to her map, she was very close to the centre. She had gone wrong a couple of times, which was frustrating, having to find the right path in a series of dark tunnels with only a flashlight to guide you was hard enough. She didn't see anyone which was equally good as bad, good because it meant that Cloacina probably wasn't aware of her but bad because it gave her no indication of if she was on the right track.

A few moments later, she heard distant voices and dim light was glowing from around the corner. She back up against the wall, her fast movement making loud splashes in the water that echoed through the tunnels, she was half scared that the goddess had heard her, she hadn't come this far to be defeated. She got out the spear in her bag and a piece of paper which had the spell Bobby had given them to stop Cloacina from turning into shadows.

"na stamatísoun na krývontai eaftó sas kai na deíxoume poioi pragmatiká eíste. Apallageíte apó metamfíesi sas stous thnitoús kai na sas deíxei os thnitós ton eaftó sas." She pronounced with some difficulty but she guessed it worked as there was a sharp gust of wind around her. She breathed out heavily in shock, did she really just do magic?

"WHO DID THAT?" she heard a voice ask angrily, she could have sworn she'd heard that voice before. She backed up against the wall harder, scared of facing a goddess, who would probably be pretty angry from being disabled from some of her powers.

She slowly went to the corner of the tunnel and turned her head around the corner, the table was about ten metres away but luckily, Sam caught her eyes. He smiled quickly before turning to Cloacina and saying "hey answer me this," the goddess turned to Sam, so her back was to Emma. The redhead slowly started to walk towards the Roman wonder with the spear gripped tight in her hands. "Why do you take us if you know we have family and people that care about us?" Sam continued speaking as he watched Emma come closer in the corner of his eye behind Eliza. "You're a person, or goddess, who's desperate for love, why do you not care about the love that's being taken away?" Emma was a couple of meters away now. "Do you not care?" he asked, Emma raised her spear behind her back.

"Sam, do you think I'm stupid?" she asked in a sickly tone before turning around and striking her hand out so Emma went flying across the wall, spear flying out of her hands and onto the floor.

"Oh honey," she said kindly, walking up to Emma, who widened her eyes when she saw who Cloacina really was. "I'm actually quite glad you came, I mean you don't love me but you are the last hunter, I knew you were all here to kill me. But now I have no worry and I've got my murder weapon as a trophy!" she said happily before taking a knife out of her pocket and pointing it towards Emma, walking forwards slowly towards the younger girl slowly with a psychotic expression on her face.

"You know," Dean's voice said behind her, making the goddess to turn around. "You should really check about what your lovers are wearing before you take them, might have all sorts of kinky material." He announced before a laser beam appeared out the side of his watch and cut the metal open, he snapped it off his wrist to cut the metal chain, which freed his arms, he then went to free the rope on his legs. He stood up and took a bow. "Never trust a spy babe."

"You swine." She shouted angrily, she took her knife and chased Dean to the other side of the wall before putting the weapon against his neck. "You think you can defy me? A goddess, I am stronger than you all put together, you think you, a mortal can defeat me? I've been alive for centuries and all I want is a bit of love, is that too much to ask from you ungrateful, selfish bastards."

"You know what your problem is?" Dean asked slyly. "You talk too much."

Eliza's eyes widened and she started screaming before she burst into golden particles which sprayed into the air like confetti. She was dead. Emma was standing opposite her with a spear in her hand and a look of shock on her face.

"Well done Em," Dean grinned going to hug and lift her into the air. She giggled in happiness of knowing that the hunt was over and she had did something right.

Dean went to let the rest of them go, grinning in glee as he got to release the rest of the victims go. "And you thought it was stupid," he smiled at Emma.

"Okay, I take it back." She laughed.

"You're really a spy then?" Jake asked.

"The name's Bond, James Bond." He said in British accent to the younger man.

Dean went to let Sam go last, who stood up and hugged him before going to hug Emma tightly, "you did it Em." He grinned.

"So, are we really free?" Alice asked hopefully.

"You goddamn are." Dean commanded.

"I know the way out." Emma said before leading them out of the space they had been imprisoned in for so long.

X

They got out in just over an hour; they were all desperate to get out of the darkness and into the light of day and back into the society.

"I can't believe it!" Ross yelled happily, running out of the tunnel and into the open air.

"I never thought it would be this good to be outside." Alice admitted. Breathing in the fresh air like it was a drug she was addicted to.

"However can we thank you?" Ross asked Emma.

"How about…saying thank you?" She smiled back.

"Th-thank you. But surely we must owe you something- money or something?"

"Well now you mention it," Dean started excitedly.

"We don't need anything." Emma quickly interrupted.

"It's our job." Sam finished.

"I really thought we'd never get out." Alice whispered, Ross went to hug her.

"Neither did I. I'm so glad that bitch is dead."

"So, do things like that really exist?"

"You shouldn't be concerned about that anymore." Sam said softly. "Go live the rest of your lives, go marry your fiancée Alice, be happy."

"I will." The bride-to-be grinned.

"So, what now?" Jake asked, returning back after his own private celebration of freedom.

"Go to the police, it's not going to easy, the press will be at your house, you'll probably be forever known as the victims of the mysterious kidnapper." Dean explained. "But you're free so who the hell cares."

"But we have to warn them about those things out there-" Ross started.

"The hell you will!" Dean warned. "First of all, it will give you a lifetime stay in cuckoo house and people like us are here to prevent people finding out about the shitty things in our world."

"And you don't want credit? I mean you saved us, you can't just go on without getting a reward?" Jake asked.

"Just go have the normal lives that we will never be able to live, that's all we ask of you." Sam smiled kindly.

The three 'normal' people gradually went off in one direction while the three hunters remained behind.

"Well that's another case done." Emma sighed.

"Dean and I owe you our lives, you saved us both." Sam admitted.

"I mean we would still be alive now, but we would have lived in the protection of that bitch for all of our lives." Dean shivered. "So, what do you want your reward to be tiger?"

"Nothing seriously unless it's taking a shower cos you have been in a fricken sewer." She laughed. They started making their way back to the motel; Emma was walking backwards in front of them.

"I shower I can do." Sam replied happily.

"And don't go chasing anymore mysterious and enchanting women."

"Can't promise that I'm afraid," Dean answered assertively.

"Well I can't stop your desires but the last girl you chased was a pretty shit choice."

"I see what you did there." Sam chuckled.

"I'm just saying that it would've been a crappy relationship." She joked with a giggle.

"That's it," Dean yelled before chasing her across the grass, followed by Sam, she screamed like a child who had just seen an ice cream van and started running away from the two older guys. Dean chased her for a few metres before he grabbed her from behind and they both fell over onto the grass. She laughed before getting back up and running away from her second enemy, Sam Winchester, but he chased her and quickly caught up before lifting her up and spinning her around.

"You had enough puns missy?" Dean asked after Sam put her back down.

"I think they all kinda flushed down the toilet when you started chasing me." She said cheekily.

"That's it," Sam laughed before putting her up on to his shoulders and they all started to make their way back to their motel where they could fulfil Emma's wish of them having a shower.


	32. Disney World's a World Away

**Helloooo, sorry that this update has been so late- tbh I was too busy watching Love Island- but here's the next chapter.**

 **Make sure to favourite or follow this story if you liked and I would love to hear your thoughts on it in the reviews because things are about to get intense…**

"Seriously, you think a ghost would be nicer to you when pushing you against a wall." Emma complained, who was holding her hand against her neck firmly, as they walked back to the motel in Cincinnati. She had been hunting with the Winchesters for another week now and had just finished her fifth hunt. It had been two months since she had ended up in the W care; it was still a bit weird living on the road in America, away from the usual luxuries she was gifted to back home in England, but she felt like she finally got the gist of things here. She adored Sam and Dean, they may have brotherly, unnecessary arguments at times and they were, after all, rough-tough guys who hunted the supernatural, but they were still like the brothers she'd always missed out on having, unlike her older sibling Richard, who cared about his law degree more than his family.

"How's the neck?" Sam asked with a chuckle.

"Hurts like hell, still." She admitted.

"Don't worry; I'm sure hell's a lot worse." Dean replied roughly.

"Oh God, I'm sorry," She apologized quickly after realising that the previous comment may have been offensive to the older hunter.

"It's fine." The short-haired brother replied with a small laugh.

"What are you going to do now?" the long-haired one asked as he opened his motel room open with the key.

"I'm planning on just sleeping for the rest of the day." She stated, feeling extremely tired. Running away from something that would kill you was exhausting after all.

"I wouldn't plan on doing that just yet." A deep voice announced from within the dark motel room. Even though she'd only heard it a few times before, she recognized the voice instantly as it was rich with sinister seriousness.

"Cas?" Dean asked, turning on the lights to reveal the angel in the trench coat sitting in a perpendicular angle in one of the motel chairs.

"Hello," he replied, standing up before putting his hand up so it showed his palm facing them.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked in confusion to the angel's peculiar actions.

"You're supposed to hit it, I've seen humans do this action, it's very anomalous but they seem to enjoy doing it."

"You mean a high-five?" Dean asked with raised eyebrows.

"I think that's the name of the activity yes."

"Yeah… dude, you're not getting one of those until you deserve one."

Castiel looked at his hand sadly before slowly lowering it.

"So why are you here?" Emma asked curiously, guessing that the angel's purpose wasn't just to high-five them all and then disappear again and then leave.

"I have news." He announced.

"Yeah?" She asked nervously, the angel didn't sound particularly like he was please or happy, but it was the same tone that he used for everything so maybe it wasn't going to be bad news.

The three hunters went to sit on the edge of Sam's bed and the angel pulled a chair opposite them.

"We have finally cracked the demon we've been torturing."

"That's good, that's good." Dean said quickly, taking the positive side of the news as a way to reassure the other two.

"He has told us a vital piece of news about the demon Surozahl, his vessel has been growing weak for some time now."

"Is his vessel still Dean?" she asked precariously about her ex-boyfriend, she may not have liked the guy much but she would feel bad if she had been the reason for him being the meat-suit for a demon all this time.

"No, he left your boyfriend's body as soon as he found out you were gone. According to this demon we've been questioning, he changes his vessel every two to three months; he is too powerful to maintain the one he has as none of them are his true vessel. They have a list of suitable vessels for him and the next one on his list is called Jerry Resells, he will possess him at twelve pm in two days' time. We have already looked up Jerry Resells and he lives in Orlando, Florida."

"So, all we have to do is track this Jerry guy down and then we'll find Surozahl?" Sam asked.

"Precisely."

"Well that's easy." Dean said happily.

"And are you going to kill him?" Emma asked.

"No, I fear he is too powerful for any demon blade." Castiel explained, making Emma feel slightly let down, after all the chaos this demon had caused her, he would still be alive at the end of this unpleasant rollercoaster. "However, we can make a separation spell."

"A what now?" Dean frowned.

"A separation spell, it separates two souls from contact. It's all in the name to make it easy to understand. All we need for this his consent to be separated from you and it will mean he cannot come into contact with you physically or spiritually."

"So, it will be like a restraining order?" she asked putting it into human terms.

"Yes."

"That sounds good to me."

"Let's go kill this son of a bitch." Dean said eagerly.

X

" _Dean_." Sam got his brother's attention two hours into the very long journey ahead of them. Dean was able to look away from the deserted road for a few seconds, seeing his brother jerk his eyes backwards dramatically to the quiet girl sitting in the back. Emma had definitely quietened down to mute since finding out about Surozahl's whereabouts and she had been looking outside the window for most of the journey, acting as if she could distance herself from her true reality.

Dean sighed before loudly asking "so, Em…you ever been to Disney World?" he chuckled, making his brother glare at him. "What?" he shrugged, "We're going to Florida."

"No." Emma gently replied. "I'd never been to America before now."

"Guess we've managed to take you on quite the road trip."

"Guess so." Emma whispered before drawing her knees up to the seat and looking back out of the window.

"You know," Sam took over thirty-seconds later, "This case is good. We got a shot at stopping this bastard from hurting you.

"I know," she made a delayed faint reply five seconds later. "I'm just…"

"Scared?"

"I was going to go with terrified. I mean, we may have a lead but…when Surozahl looked at me through Dean's eyes and when I finally realised what he was…it's like he wanted nothing more than to see me in pain. I never knew a person could hate someone so deeply like that…let alone a stranger."

"Surozahl ain't no stranger." Dean answered. "He's a demon and Sammy and I have killed many of those before. Azazel killed our mom but I killed that bastard dead and Sam killed a chick he'd been screwing cos she was a demonic bitch."

"You-You've dated a demon?"

"Not exactly." Sam chuckled before forcing it to fade. "But point is, all demons can die no matter how terrifying they are."

"I guess…I just don't want him to stare at me like that again."

"We'll make sure he will never be able to see you again." Dean promised, making her smile softly before she leant against the window to see the fast-moving scenery in front of her, still worried but maybe now a little more comforted.

X

It was eleven-thirty, two nights later, the three hunters were about to leave their motel room in Florida. But tonight wasn't about going on a fun family trip to Disney World, it was about hunting a malevolent creature lurking around in the middle of the night, finding innocent victims to possess for their own. Emma looked outside her window, it was deserted and pitch-black outside, she was almost expecting to see Surozahl walking up to their motel room but no one was seen. She was scared- or terrified more likely- to see him again, seeing as last time he came with death-threats and destruction. But in order for a dawn, there must be a night before.

"We should probably leave; you said it would take ten minutes to get to the bar." She announced. They had found Surozahl's next victim, Jerry Resells, five miles away and according to Cas he went to the same public house every Tuesday night to play darts. Sam and Dean shared a concerned look before the younger brother went up to her, leaning down so he was closer to her height.

"Emma," he said softly.

"What?" she asked anxiously, she knew something was wrong by the tone of his voice, the horrible voice adults with children when they were hiding something back and didn't want to tell the kids the whole truth?

"Sam and I are going." Dean replied.

"What do you mean?" she asked quickly, looking at Dean and then back at Sam in misperception.

Sam sighed.

"No, tell me." She said straightforwardly at the younger brother's empty question. "You're obviously trying to get at something so don't hold it back. God, I hate it when people do that!"

"Surozahl doesn't know about us being on his tail, this could be our one shot at saving you and our intention has always been about keeping you safe and we will do that. Just because he's oblivious to our plans it doesn't mean that it's safe, he wants to kill you and he will try to do so at any chance he gets." Sam explained.

"So, your plan is just to keep me hidden, you tried that once before and remember what happened? You almost died. That was before I was even a hunter and now I'm more useful."

"Look, that was a onetime thing and it's not going to happen tonight." Dean said certainly.

"But you need my consent for it as well."

"We checked with Cas on that, the procession can be carried out for twelve hours in-between, we'll come back and do you part and then it will be done."

"But what if you don't come back?" She asked nervously.

"We promise we will." Sam said before putting his lips on her forehead lightly and going to the front door, Dean followed after hugging Emma and kissing the top of her head.

"We'll be back before you can say _pie_." Dean joked before the two left, leaving Emma alone in the motel room.

The two hunters got in the car and started driving towards their destination.

"Do you feel bad about leaving her there?" Sam asked his brother.

"Yeah of course I fricken do but it's safer for her in there."

"I suppose, I guess after tonight she can go back home." He admitted sadly.

"Don't remind me, I'm going to miss her, I love that kid so god damn much."

"I know, I do too, but at least she'll back home, safe, away from all of this."

"I s'pose you're right like always lil bro. She gets to get the life that she deserves, a normal one."

"Well let's just kill this son-of-a-bitch so we can make that happen."

"I like your thinking, Sammy." Dean grinned as they raced off to go kill the monster that'd had it coming ever since he came into their lives.

X

Emma watched the clock tick on the motel room as she lay on the bed, she had been watching it ever since the boys left; it was the only thing that she could think about. Finally, after feeling like it had been forever, the three hands on the clock were finally aligned. She watched the third hand trail away from the number 'twelve' at the top of the clock one step per second. It was midnight. Nothing felt different but she thought there would be some sort of feeling, even a small one. Had Sam and Dean trapped Surozahl, were they making him say the separation vowels right now? Was Surozahl attacking them with a bunch of other demons? She shook her head quickly, trying to get the thought of the brothers being hurt out of her head. They were safe; they were the Winchesters for god's sake.

A sudden knock on the door distracted her; she got up slowly to answer it. She knew that Sam and Dean couldn't be back yet; it had only been thirty seconds and even if it was them, they had a certain knock they used. She cautiously opened the door ajar to see who was there. It was an old, sweet looking man except for a distressed expression on his face.

"I'm sorry dear," he said in a troubled tone. "I'm in the room next door, and I cut myself shaving." He explained, showing her his hand which had a deep cut on it and was trailing a thick river of blood down his wrist. "I was wondering if you could help me, my hands…shake and I can't wrap bandages round it."

"Yeah, yeah sure," Emma answered quickly. Hospitality was a quality bred into her.

"Thank you, Emma." He smiled walking in.

Emma turned around quickly. "How did you know my-" the door slammed behind her by the old man nodding his head. She felt her heartbeat quicken. How could have she been stupid. How could she have let this happen?

"God, doesn't anyone teach you about stranger danger these days?" the old man chuckled before looking at his hand, which healed in the blink of an eye. "Then again, we're not exactly strangers, are we?"

"Surozahl?" she whispered fearfully before turning to the door and trying to yank it open.

"It won't work." He cooed.

"Please, just let me go." She begged, feeling tears come to the brims of her eyes.

"No. We're going to talk." He said, walking to the motel chair in the middle of the room and sitting on it. "I like to talk to my victims before I drain the blood out of them."

"Please." She whispered, feeling tears roll down her face.

The motel phone started ringing, she sighed in relief, it was probably Sam or Dean, they knew, they were coming to save her. But they were ten minutes away, and a lot could happen in ten minutes. "You'll answer that if you want to die." He answered happily. She looked at the phone longingly, just wanting to talk to Sam and Dean for them to tell her that everything would be okay. She had to keep him occupied, he wanted to talk and putting him off murdering her seemed like a good idea. She was terrified but she had to be smart, he wanted a conversation so she'd give him one.

"So, you want to talk?" she asked, slowly walking closer to him. His very essence made her shiver to the bone, just the fact of him being a few metres away.

"I do, yes." she knew that he was lying but his deceit was far better than his true intentions.

"How did you know about me being here alone?"

"Those stupid angels are humble to their word they said to my demon that they'd let him go if he gave them information about me and then they did. He came running straight to me about what he snitched, I had to kill him of course, he did tell them my plans, but the information he gave me in return was pretty good."

"I think you got us all fooled." She admitted. "I thought you were just an innocent old man who needed help, guess I was wrong."

"Yes, you were but then again how were you to have known. I've been watching you for a very long time Emma, I know your weaknesses…your kindness, to trust in everyone, how funny that it's going to get you killed."

Emma gulped heavily, still walking towards him with shivering legs. "If I am to die tonight then you should tell me why you want to kill me."

Surozahl chuckled. "Why would I tell you, maybe it's a dark secret I want to keep hidden all to myself?"

"Because maybe I deserve to know why I died, you may be an evil bastard but you must have reason."

"That is true." Surozahl grinned, leaning back in his chair so it creaked painfully. "But I guess you're going to have to go to your grave not knowing."

"I hate you, you know. I've never hated anyone until now."

"And why do you hate me?"

"Because you ruined my life!" she shouted. "I was fine and then you came and destroyed everything. I know I'm not perfect but I didn't fucking deserve this."

"Don't you? Murderer." Surozahl spat, standing up and walking to where Emma was standing, which was about a meter away he then went and pushed her onto the chair he was just sitting on before going behind and whispering in her ear the word "murderer" once more.

"No, I'm not that." She said frightfully. She wasn't a murderer, she wasn't. Sam told her, she wasn't a murderer. She wasn't.

"Yes, you are." He hissed. "I may be a demon but you murdered your own sister. You killed her, if not for you, she would have lived for a few more days at least."

"Don't say that." Emma whispered, putting her head on her head.

"You're the one to blame for her death, I was there when she died you know. I watched you stand by and not pull the emergency cord."

"I tried, I couldn't." Emma cried.

"No, you didn't, you stood by watching her die. You didn't do anything to help."

"That's not true!"

"Emma Viola the girl loved least by her mother, by her father, by everyone. You were a disappointment to your family; they really wish you were the one who died."

"No, you're lying."

"I'm not."

"Wha-what do you mean?"

"Hmm," Surozahl thought to himself. "Nope, don't you worry your little mind about it. At the end of the day, murderers should always be reminded of exactly what they are."

"Wh-Why are you telling me this?" Emma sobbed.

"Because you told me you 'deserved' to know." He cackled. "So you are Emma Viola, the daughter nobody loved because you are a cruel cold-hearted murder who should rot in hell…and talking of that," he said before pulling out a knife, "I think it's time to put that phrase into actions."

"You still haven't told me why." She begged, trying not to look at the knife. Tears hurrying out of her eyes and dropping onto her hand below, she looked at the door, desperate for Sam and Dean to burst through. But they weren't there and Emma was starting to lose faith that those boys would turn up before her dreaded death was too late to be prevented.

X

"There's our guy." Dean announced to Sam as they saw Jerry Resell throwing darts across the bar.

"It's three to midnight." The younger brother stated.

They made their way closer to the young man who was joking around with a couple of mates, not knowing that in a few minutes his body would be in the power of someone else.

"So, when he gets possessed, we'll put the demonic hand cuffs on him and take him outside?" Sam went through the plan again.

"Yep." His brother nodded.

It was midnight. The brothers were about two metres away from Jerry; they were pretending to watch the game while secretly spying on their suspect instead.

"Dean it's now one past midnight, why hasn't anything happened?" Sam asked through gritted teeth.

"I have no fricken idea but I don't like it." The older hunter admitted.

The short-haired brother walked up to Jerry, grabbing a flask of whisky out of his jacket. "Hey." He said before splashing some clear liquid in his face.

"Hey what's with the water dude?" he asked angrily.

"Nothing." Dean said quickly walking back to his brother. "It's not Surozahl."

"What the hell?" Sam whispered. "We need to get back to the motel."

The two brothers rushed to the car and Dean quickly pulled out of the bar and started driving home. Sam got out his cell phone and dialled the phone they had in their motel room. After a few dials it cut off.

"Dean, she's not answering." He said angrily.

"Shit." The other cursed. "It was a trap, I knew it."

"How did he even know?"

"I have no frigging clue."

"She's going to be okay, isn't she?" Sam asked in worry.

"Of course she is!" Dean said confidently but yet his voice was feeble. They had no verification of the girl's wellbeing and they knew enough about Surozahl to know that he wouldn't leave the cat in the box alive. They just had the long road ahead of them with time running out and only so fast they could drive.


	33. Time for the Show

**Hey guys, left on a pretty hefty hanger but here is the next chapter!**

 **I hope you enjoy and please review, follow and favourite if you did because your support means a lot!**

"Where should we start?" Surozahl asked excitedly. "See I was going for a slow kill. I don't want to cut the neck, that will be over way too quickly. Have you ever cut a human's neck? It's far most the boring way to see someone go. What about the heart? You can pick somewhere out too, I'm all open for suggestions."

Emma closed her eyes tightly as she waited for the sharp, painful tip of the knife to pierce her skin, she was terrified. What did death feel like? How long would it take to die? Where would she go afterwards? She felt too frozen to move or defend herself, meaning all that was left was the chance of comforting herself.

"Why aren't you making any suggestions?" he asked angrily. "Speak."

But Emma couldn't obey his orders as her lips had been glued together with sweat, she couldn't say a word. She just wanted this horror story to be over, she was ready, she was ready to die.

"That's a pretty bracelet." He admitted, lifting up her wrist, where the accessory loosely rested on it, and examining the white-gold band with interest.

"Don't touch it!" she suddenly snapped.

"Why?" he asked curiously before turning the band over and seeing the words 'Georgia Viola' inscribed on the back in fancy handwriting. "Oh." He chuckled. "This was your sister's, wasn't it? This is so adorable, you thinking that by wearing this you can somehow keep her alive…how foolishly sentimental."

"Don't talk about her like that!"

He dropped her wrist so it smacked the chair. Suddenly she felt a cold finger scratch her face and the skin on her cheek rip open before hot liquid began to drip out of it, she let out a painful gasp as she felt the knife's damage. "Don't tell me what to do!" The tip of the weapon then went to her arm and he started drawing circles lightly on her skin just below the elbow before he put pressure and cut downwards. The blood started to seep, painting pain on her skin in crimson as she yelled in horror of it. She felt dizzy but she didn't want to pass out, she didn't want her life to end, not now and not by the hands of this monster.

"Your scream is beautiful." Surozahl whispered.

"You're sick." She spat.

"I am gaining my revenge."

"What revenge?! What did I _ever_ do to you?"

"Don't act all high and mighty, Emma Viola." He growled. "We both know the dark secrets hiding in your wardrobe. And I can see in the darkness better than you. But now it's time for your little meaningless life to end." He said, stroking the tip of the blade over her already red-stained skin. Emma felt tears roll down her cheeks, so she was going to die, she would be dead in a matter of minutes if her demon was at least a little bit kind.

A few months ago, she would've never imagined her dying like this, this sick way by fear and torture. The demon had got what he'd wanted and it made her furious, why had God allowed this monster to even exist? She tried to think of Alex, of Georgie, of Alfie and Kevin, anything that would calm her mind but they all turned to blurriness like water spilled on ink. There wasn't a safe place to hide in anymore. How would normal people about to die act? Could they just escape their body and not feel the fear that was buried in the pits of their stomachs? Was Georgie as scared as this when she died…of course not she was brave, braver than Emma could ever be. Surozahl was still lightly pressing the knife against her throat and she didn't know why he wasn't hurrying up, she just wanted the worst to be over.

The night would forever remain night; there would never be another dawn for her. It was the last page of the book where her bitter story came to a tragic end, the last seconds of a sad song, the last moment to remember all her life had come to and how little she had managed to with it.

Suddenly there was a bang, causing her eyes to snap open, she still saw Surozahl standing above her, and she still felt the weight of the knife on her throat and the blood oozing out of her open wounds. But he hadn't stained the weapon with her life yet.

"Games over pal." The voice of Dean hit her ears, she felt her heartbeat quicken in hope as she turned her head to see the two brothers standing at the door through the vision blurred by her tears. They both had demon knives ready to defend and expressions that stated that they wouldn't be scared to make a bastard bleed.

"You're just in time for the show." Surozahl laughed happily. "This is the point where I cut her throat, take a seat, boys, it's going to be a fun show. First three rows are going to get bloody!"

"See old man, I don't think there's going to be a show tonight."

Surozahl finally removed the knife from Emma, she breathed in liberation but she knew that she was still in the eye of the storm, she was just grateful the eye wasn't looking at her anymore. Surozahl threw the knife on the floor and put his hand up to throw the two boys against the wall…but nothing happened.

"What?" he shouted angrily as Sam went to pull a petrified Emma out of the chair and other to join him and Dean, Surozahl ran after them but then it was like he collided with a brick wall as he couldn't travel any further. She looked at the demon in confusion, his very face still scaring her but she had a good perception that the worst was over. It felt good being away from the evil bastards and into the safety of people she actually trusted again.

Surozahl shoved his palm up into the air, grinning maliciously and eyes darting to the side wall along with his hand. Nothing happened.

"Try looking up dude." Dean grinned.

Surozahl did and Emma joined, grinning when she saw that there was a painted devil's trap on the ceiling in pure white paint.

"You bastards!" he yelled.

"See I always have a hunch, I never put both my feet off the ground, you really think I was going to leave Em here in an unprotected motel?"

"So, you're going to trap me here forever?" he laughed hysterically.

"No, I'm going to make a deal. Where's the passage Sammy?"

Sam passed him a piece of paper which had foreign writing on it.

"We're going to do a lil ritual."

"What kind of ritual?" Surozahl spat.

"You want to get out of here or not?" Dean asked the demon smoothly. Surozahl growled heatedly but didn't say anything else. "Thought so, Em, you're gonna have to come here."

Emma shook her head vigorously. "Dean, please don't make me do this." She had just got away from this monster and didn't want to go near him ever again.

"Aw is the little girl scared?" Surozahl cooed.

"Shut it!" Dean said, pointing the demon knife at him dangerously. "Em, it's going to be fine, he's behind a demon trap and if he tries anything then he'll pay for it."

Em hesitated before going over to the demon. He looked her in the eyes with an evil glint and she looked away quickly, her heartbeat quickening again to a dangerous number.

"Okay, repeat after me you bastard." Dean said as he stood next to Emma. "I Surozahl."

"I Surozahl." The demon repeated in a voice that made himself sound in pain.

"Give my consent to separate myself from Emma Viola."

"A separation spell?" he shouted.

"Yes, you son-of-a-bitch, now say the words!"

"Give my consent to separate myself from Emma Viola."

"Spiritually, physically and in all other possible ways"

"Spiritually, physically and in all other possible ways"

"Until these words are undone."

"Until these words are undone." He finished with a jeer.

Dean then got the demon knife and sliced his arm, which made the demon hiss in pain, and he got Surozahl's blood on the blade. "The rope Sam." He said, Sam brought over a piece of rope, which had a piece of white cloth tied around the end of each sides, he held it out to Dean who used his knife to paint the cloth on the left end red.

"Okay Em, repeat after me."

"Okay," she whispered, feeling equally worried as excited.

"I Emma Viola,"

"I Emma Viola,"

"Give my consent to separate myself from the evil, soul-sucking bastard Surozahl."

"Give my consent to separate myself from Surozahl."

"Spiritually, physically and in all other possible ways"

"Spiritually, physically and in all other possible ways"

"Until these words are undone."

"Until these words are undone." She finished with a grin.

"Okay, it seems like this son-of-a-bitch has already harmed you so we can just do this," he said before his hand and gently wiping of some of the blood that was leaking out of her arm and smeared it on the cloth on the right end of the rope. "Okay bastard, you can go now."

"You and I may be separated but I will still kill you, one day your blood will be painted on my walls." He shouted at Emma happily, who backed away to Sam, who put his arms around her protectively. "You'll always be a murderer, don't forget that!"

"Alright that's enough." Sam warned the demon as Emma felt tears fall down her cheeks once more.

"Okay, you leave straight away and no funny stuff." Dean instructed to the demon as he went up on the motel table to reach the ceiling before scratching some of the red paint off so it broke the circle. Surozahl vanished instantly.

Emma turned to Sam, who hugged her tightly, and cried into his plaid shirt. "It's okay Em." He whispered.

"Is it over?" she asked hopefully.

"Almost." Dean announced before getting the piece of rope and throwing it in the motel bin and setting it on fire with his lighter, which quickly went up in flames. "Now it's over, he can't hurt you again."

Emma nodded, she felt happy but his words still haunted her. "I thought I was going to die." She gulped.

"We're so sorry Em." Dean apologized.

"You said you knew that it was a trap, you left me alone with that monster you used me as _bait._ " She accused angrily, feeling betrayed to be safely in danger so obliviously.

"I knew and I'm sorry Em, I did think he was going to be at the bar but I wasn't certain. You weren't bait, you were a backup plan."

"We need to sort out those wounds." Sam announced, he took of his plaid over-shirt quickly and used it as pressure against the wound on her arm. "Dean, don't they keep a first aid kit in the restroom?"

"Yeah I'll go get it." The older brother said before going to bathroom.

"You alright?" he asked Emma in concern.

"No." she whispered. "Everything hurts and I know I'm never going to get his voice out of my head."

"What did he say?" Sam asked curiously.

Emma shook her head vigorously, more tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Hey." Sam said softly before pulling her into a hug again. "Dean and I are here now; nothing's going to hurt you okay?"

"You mean apart from the rest of the monsters out there?"

Sam hesitated before laughing "okay, that was a crap promise…but he was the biggest one to fear and now he's gone."

"Okay," she whispered as they broke apart again.

Dean came back with the first aid kid and sat on the bed with the two others. He took out some disinfectant along with some cotton wool before pouring some of the liquid onto the cloud-like material, Sam removed the shirt and she was glad to see that it wasn't bleeding heavily anymore. "This is going to hurt." He warned Emma before slowly putting it on her arm. She winced in pain as Dean cleaned the wound.

"Good thing is that I don't think you need stiches."

"Yippee." She sighed.

"Hey, try to look on the bright side." Dean said lightly before looking at her with sad eyes. "Sammy and I were really scared when we found out that other dude wasn't needed tonight."

"And then we were even more terrified when you didn't answer the phone." Sam added.

"It was bad enough with that creep who tried to crush your hand the other week and he was just some douchebag."

"We don't know what we'd do if anything happened to you, we'd rather die than let you get hurt." Sam admitted.

"Thanks guys." She said softly, she felt tears come again. "I think I'm going to cry again."

"Hey," Dean laughed sadly. "Don't cry… then I'll cry and my mascara will be ruined and it will all just be a mess." Emma giggled at the older man's humour.

She loved those two boys more than anything in the world, they were like the family she was never lucky enough to have. Even though sometimes they lied or avoided the truth, they'd always try as best to perform the greater good. Surozahl was gone, it was all over but his words still hurt, seeing as a part of her still dominated her fear. But despite all of this, she knew that being with the Winchesters would make that unpleasant feeling go away. Apparently, they were her clarity in this dangerous and unpredictable world. And even though in the other world things had been organised and foreseeable, family had never been more of a lucid concept.


	34. No Place Like Home

"So, I guess it's time." Dean announced as they all stood in the middle of the motel room the following day after the separation spell had been made. The older hunter was smiling broadly but Emma had come to know all too well the sadness hidden behind the happy glint in his eyes. Sam's emotion was obvious through his puppy-dog eyes, although every time he caught Emma looking at him, he gave her a reassuring smile as if to suggest he was please she was leaving. The angel was also present in the room and had the same expression on as always, mysteriously serious with innocent, piercing blue eyes that seemed like they were from heaven themselves.

"I guess," she whispered, the words coming out of her mouth automatically as if it was the right way to reply.

"Are you ready to go back home?" Sam asked in a false-enthusiastic tone.

"I suppose it's time. Are you sure Surozahl can't find me?"

"Yes, not unless the separation spell is broken this is technically impossible without your consent. I doubt you'll be in a hurry to give him that."

"Not in a million years. But what about his demon friends, they can still find me can't they?"

"I can perform a safety barrier around you." Castiel explained. "Without Surozahl, they will not be powerful enough to trace it."

"Thanks Cas." She smiled weakly.

"It has been an honour protecting you." The angel stated. "And I can now return you home where you left."

"Okay, just let me say goodbye." She said meekly before walking up to Dean, who pulled her into a tight hug, and feeling the presence of her fellow friend and hunter for the last time. She knew she'd miss Dean with her entire soul, hating that she'd never hear his smooth, rough voice again or enjoy his unique humour. He was her best friend and her brother and that she would never forget.

"I s'pose you get to go home, tiger." He whispered, kissing the top of her head.

"I didn't die." She said with a quick laugh.

"Yeah, I guess you didn't." he chuckled. "You're probably twenty-three right now, living some sweet apple pie life with a proper future and probably a car you can probably listen to your own music in."

"I liked your music." She admitted. "It was awesome."

"Awesome, you're speaking like me!"

"I suppose you rubbed off on me, huh?"

"That's probably a bad thing; I'm no good role model."

"Yeah you are, you're an amazing one! Before you, I had no idea how to stand up for myself of 'kick ass'…I never want to go back to the person I was two months ago ever again."

"I like any Emma."

"I thought Deans didn't like Emmas."

"Deans don't like Emmas…they love them."

"You're most probably right." She laughed.

"Go live Emma, go live the life Sam and I can never have and know that we will always be jealous of you."

"Will you miss me?"

"Miss?" he chuckled away tears. "I miss you right now."

"I do too."

Dean slowly moved his body away from her before his green eyes connected with her ones. "Goodbye Em."

"Goodbye Dean." She smiled with teary eyes before moving onto Sam and tenderly throwing her body on his, he gripped her tight, taking in the last moment of physical contact they would ever have.

"Your name is Sam Winchester, your favourite colour is red, you like salad and you loved _To Kill a Mocking Bird_." She told him.

"Correct." He chuckled. "Your name is Emma Viola, your favourite color is emerald, you want to be a journalist and your best friend is Alex."

"Correct." She giggled. "I can't believe you remembered all that."

"Of course I did, and I'll never forget it either."

"Neither will I. I just wanted to say thanks for being there in my darkest days and being there for me when nobody else was around." She told him before they broke apart.

"Who knew that the scared English girl could be the Emma standing in front of us now?"

"You helped with that a lot." She said standing back, now addressing Dean again as well. "You became more than these two guys who were kind enough to help me, you became my friends, my family and I will never be able to tell you how grateful I am to say that I was helped and saved by the Winchesters."

"We wouldn't hesitate to help again in a heartbeat." Dean promised.

"Emma, it's time." Castiel told her, she nodded before backing away from the Winchesters to go back to the angel, who had recused her all those weeks ago, and took his hand.

"I'm going to miss you lil sis." Dean told her, he was grinning as if to seem that he supported the whole idea but there was a shine in his eyes that suggested holding back tears.

"You're going to have a great life Em." Sam encouraged her but he was failing to smile.

Looking at the two men that were encouraging her to leave them behind, she was forced to close her eyes as she knew she would never see again and realising that it was getting too hard for her. She grasped Cas' hand tightly, the hand that had grabbed her from falling off the edge of death just two months ago. It was hard to think about how going back home would be like, going back to something that was exactly the same as where she left it. Sure, she would see Alex, Alfie and Kevin again, whom she had missed with all of her heart, but would it suit her? She had been hunting ghosts and had even hunted a goddess! How would she go back to normal, British life? How _could_ she? The life she had lived here was dangerous, heck, it was life-threatening, but it had been the best months of her life, how could she just let that go?

Eyes suddenly opening in panic that the Winchesters had disappeared into a fold of an old life, she found relief to see that they were still in the motel room and it wasn't too late. "Will it be totally crazy if I said that I didn't want to go back?" she suddenly questioned nervously.

"Oh, thank God." Dean said in relief before going to hug her.

"So, you don't mind me staying?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course not," The older hunter grinned.

"Emma, are you sure?" Sam questioned.

"Yeah, it's just…I can't go back to that life…I will someday but just not _to_ day. I mean…there's still plenty of lessons that I have to learn, right? Just because Surozahl is separated from me, it doesn't mean that I have to be separated from you."

"But what about your family, your friends, they'll be missing you."

"I know and I still miss them but strangely…I think I've found a family here and I don't want it to end this soon…especially when I've found two brothers who I have probably connected more with these past weeks than I ever have with my own."

"Well I can't argue with that." Dean hooted. "How 'bout we celebrate, pie sound good anyone? Cas, you can come too grumpy ass."

Emma laughed at the two of them sounding happy at her extended stay, she knew that she was being selfish to everyone back home for not going back but a part of her was begging her to stay in America. So, she'd guess she'd have to stay a little bit longer with the Winchesters, which she was weirdly thrilled about, for this world was beginning to seem more like a home than the last.

X

The next two days seemed to sprint pass the three hunters rather quickly, with them not working on a job and taking a small holiday, going to Detroit to see a _Detroit Pistons_ game. Emma had never been to a basketball game; she hadn't really been to any major sporting event in a matter of fact. By the expression of Dean's face, she could see that he was no big fan either. Sam, however, was eagerly watching the game, joining in with the rest of the crowd when they cheered for a hoop being scored by the Pistons. Seeing as he was as tall as Mount Everest, Emma could see a lot of similarities with Sam and the basketball players and wouldn't be surprised if he was a good player himself. At the end of the day she hadn't a clue of why they had gone in the first place, but she was glad that they had. The lively atmosphere and the probability that the biggest problem anyone had here was the fear of losing money on a bet seemed to create a calmer setting than the usual demon disarray they were used to.

Emma still had no feeling of regret or remorse about staying with the Winchesters, returning the same response, the two brothers continued to show their cheerfulness at the young girl deciding to stay with them. Knowing that Surozahl was far away and contained securely from the redhead hunter, she still felt her lips curling into a broad smile whenever she thought about it. The car journeys in the Impala felt shorter somehow, even when they were whole day trips, maybe it was because she always felt like she was running away from Surozahl instead of travelling to place to place aimlessly or with an aim less crucial. Dean's loud classic rock music and singing also seemed to have a kinder effect on Emma's ears now, seeing she heard them more as timeless songs rather than racket.

She went into their room that Sunday to find the two in a heated debate of some that she couldn't quite figure out the topic of. Dean was clearly pro, arms gesturing dramatically as he argued his unknown point whilst Sam was con, keeping his arms crossed as he looked at his brother as an escapee from the local asylum.

"I mean, Dean you have to be eighteen in the first place!" Sam reminded his brother, leaning forward in his chair and looking at his brother shrug at his statement carelessly.

"So? C'mon Sam, since when did we listen to the law?"

"Yeah but this isn't just 'having a beer', this is permanent."

"It's necessary, every hunter needs one."

"What are you talking about?" Emma interrupted the two Winchesters.

"Emma," Sam quickly smiled at her. "We were just discussing something."

"Was it about me?" she asked curiously, walking into the motel room and sitting on one of the motel chairs at the table.

"Yeah, it was but don't worry about it. Dean was just having another one of his dumb ideas."

"Hey, it's not a dumb idea!" his brother quickly responded.

"It is."

"What is it?" she frowned.

"A tattoo." Dean replied.

"A _tattoo_!" she almost yelled.

"See, I told you she wouldn't agree!" Sam informed his brother.

"Why? Why would I need a tattoo?"

"Look, it's just a safety precaution. See, seeing as your now officially safe from Surozahl, it don't mean he's not pissed. He can still use his other demon buddies to try and hurt you."

"But Cas said that he put a protection barrier around me?"

"Me and Sammy both know that those things aren't one-hundred percent effective, don't we Sammy?" Dean turned to his brother with raised eyebrows.

Sam hesitated before saying "It's still possible for demons to find you."

"Exactly!" Dean nodded.

"But how will a tattoo help any of this?" Emma asked, still as baffled as before.

"Have you ever heart of a pentagram?"

"That was the symbol painted on the ceiling the other day, right?"

"Bingo!" Dean nodded.

"They're used to trap demons getting out but also trap them getting in." Sam explained.

"Basically, it means that a demon can't possess you." Dean finished.

Emma nodded but still frowned, "But how does all of this link to me getting a tattoo?"

"C'mon, Sammy, presentation." The older brother said to the other before pulling the right-hand side of his shirt collar to reveal a small pentagram tattooed in black ink on his collar bone. Sam sighed before also showing Emma his tattoo.

"Oh," she said in realisation. "You mean, by having that tattooed on you, it means you can't get possessed."

"Exactly." Dean nodded.

"But you don't have to get one." Sam quickly reassured her, "I mean, it's only an extra safety precaution."

"But if I don't get one…I could get possessed?" she asked nervously.

"It's a possibility." Sam admitted.

"Couldn't I just get a necklace with it on or something?"

"Necklaces break." Dean simply answered.

"But I can't get a tattoo! I mean, my school doesn't allow it- I could get expelled- and my mother will kill me. She'd kill me if I got a tattoo of Jesus Christ let alone a demonic symbol! She's the biggest conservative ever, she'll put me in a mental hospital."

"I think demon possession is way worse than what your mommy will do."

"Dean!" Sam defended.

"What, it's the truth."

"Look," the younger Winchester said to Emma softly, "You don't have to do anything if you don't want to."

"But it wouldn't be the worst thing to consider." Dean added.

Emma hesitated. She had never considered getting a tattoo before, her mother had made it very clear that any sort of that reckless behaviour would cost her a severe punishment. Her mind flashed back to when her brother, Richard, came home from his 'lads holiday' in 2002 with his- now ex- girlfriend's name tattooed on the side of his right index finger. Her father yelled at him all night and he was only forgiven when he got into Oxford University later that summer. She had been so scarred from her brother's decisions, she had to deny Alex's request for them to get a joint tattoo when they were older. But then again, her mother wasn't Surozahl and compared to him, her reaction to her tattoo would be nowhere as scary as the encounter she'd had with that demon a few nights back. "I guess, after everything that has happened already, one little tattoo can't be that bad."

"That's the attitude!" Dean said happily.

X

"Are you sure you really want this?" Sam asked Emma a few hours later as the three of them waited in a tattoo studio about five miles away from the motel. The inside décor was dark, with the walls painted blood red and there being quite graphic art on the wall. Emma felt as if she were breaking several laws just by being in here.

"Do I want a satanic symbol?" she asked him with raised eyebrows. "No. But I guess it beats demonic possession."

"If it helps, it's not really a satanic symbol, it's actually the opposite seeing as it protects you from the devil- or demons."

"Yeah cos the devil's not actually on earth- he's in a cage." Dean chuckled.

"What do you mean he's in a cage?"

"Context Dean." Sam reminded.

"Cheer up, kiddo, just get it somewhere no one will see it."

"Yeah, do you know where you want it to go?" Sam asked.

She shook her head. "Any ideas?"

"What about the same place as me and Dean?"

"No, I like wearing vests in the summer."

"Okay, what about your ankle?" the older Winchester suggested.

"Dean, I show my ankles in the summer as well."

"Okay, what don't you show off in the summer!" he rolled his eyes.

Emma thought for a moment, "I guess, somewhere around here," she pointed to the left side of her torso, above the ribs.

"Okay, well there it will go." Dean nodded.

"Which one of you is Emma Jackson?" a man came over to them. He was covered in tattoos, his whole body looking like a canvas where weird images were painted on. He even had a snake tattooed under his eye. He scared Emma slightly, she would have never seen anyone like this back home in England, and if she did, her mother would surely call security.

"Take a wild guess." Dean chuckled at the fact that there were only three of them there and two of them were males.

"It's me." Emma answered nervously.

"Okay, hello Emma, I'm Jake and I'll be your tattoo artist today. Would you like to follow me through to the studio and we'll begin?"

"Can I bring these two with me?" She asked him, gesturing to Sam and Dean.

"Um…you can bring one- the studio's kinda small."

"Okay," she said looking at the two of them, "Dean, seeing as you're the one who wants me to get this, you can be my moral support."

"Okay!" he grinned happily before standing up and saying "Told you I was the favourite." To his brother, who crossed his arms and lent back in his chair in disappointment.

X

"How does it feel?" Sam asked at ten that night, where they were all in the Winchesters' motel room.

"It aches." She complained, going to touch her left side delicately with her fingers, where she touched the cling film wrapping under her shirt. She never thought a tattoo would hurt that much, why the hell did people want them?! It lasted less than an hour and she almost had to stop it fifteen minutes in in but, luckily, Dean was better moral support than she expected, with him letting her crush his hand and distracted her with the details of the hot lady he'd met at the bar a few days ago. Although, the tattoo artist did act a little ashamed when he heard of her tattoo choice and she was tempted to tell him that she wasn't a Satanist and instead wanted to protect herself from the demons out there.

"Don't worry, the pain is only temporary." Dean informed her.

"Well, can I skip forward to the part where I can breathe out without it hurting?"

"Ah, if only life were that simple." The man chuckled.

"At least the worst is over." Sam reassured her.

"Just promise me that you're not going to make me get another tattoo."

"Hey, you might want to get another." Dean chuckled.

"I sincerely doubt that." She replied.

"You never know, you've already got one."

"Hey, it's not like I wanted it!"

"Aw, Sammy, she's been with us how long and she's already been to a bar, killed a ghost, and got a tattoo."

"Shut up." She giggled.

"Lord knows what she'll do next."

"Guess, you'll have to find out." She replied mysteriously. "Maybe I'll rob a bank or start a fire."

"Yeah, like that'll ever happen."

"You never know. Only bad girls get inked."


	35. Vampires Got Fangs, Dead Men Got Blood

Emma Viola made her way to the boys' room the next Saturday in the warm mid-spring air. April was Emma's favourite time of the year with the blooming flowers and the escape from the merciless, cold winter air. She found them both packing their bags, a usual sign that there was a new job they would have to go off and complete. The only thing that popped into her mind was what and where.

"Hey," she said as she walked through the door.

"Morning," Sam replied as he folded a plaid shirt and placed it gently into his bag.

"New job?"

"Yep," Dean answered as he shoved a black shirt into his luggage bag. "Vampires."

"V-Vampires…as in the whole fangs, bats, coffins kind of thing?" Emma asked nervously, even though she had faced ghosts and even goddesses before, vampires really did give her the shivers. Her brother once told her a story when she was five about the blood-sucking monsters, and it gave her nightmares for a whole month. It had taken Georgie's weeks of reassuring to comfort the belief of vampires being out there in the world out of her mind.

"Yeah," Sam answered like he was responding to a normal question.

"Except from what we've learned they don't turn into bats, that's all make believe bullshit." The older hunter informed the redhead.

"So… they're real?"

"Yep," Dean repeated.

"Great." she sighed sarcastically, feeling like her frightened five-year-old self again.

"If you want you can miss out on this job, vampires are kinda dangerous." Sam suggested.

"Yeah maybe we can rent a few Disney movies and just let us do the _hard_ work." Dean cooed patronisingly.

"No, I'll come." She said to the joker in an irritated tone.

"Great." Dean said clapping his hands together.

"So, what's the case?"

"Well there have been a few bodies found in a forest in Idaho, they think it's a bear attacking these people but a good old hunter friend of ours, Everett, said that there were bites in their necks and wrists."

"Sounds like something a vampire would do." Emma gathered, self-consciously putting the tips of her index and middle finger on the right side of her neck.

"Yeah, they're pretty known for it… I think your blood is pretty safe for the moment." He said, pointing to the girl with her right hand on her neck. After realising what she was doing, she quickly removed it before a blush of embarrassment came to her cheeks.

"Are you sure you want to come on this case?" Sam asked again in worry.

"Y-Yeah I'll be fine I mean you just need garlic and a cross right?"

"Those don't work actually." Sam slowly replied.

"Yeah that's just Hollywood crap." Dean stated shoving another shirt into his bag. "They can go out in sunlight, it just burns, they can't turn into bats, they won't be killed by wooden stakes-"

"They don't have fangs?" Emma asked hopefully.

"No, that part's true."

" _Great_." She whispered fearfully, feeling weary of her neck again as she felt her blood freeze in her veins. Her nerves made crinkles appear by the sides of Dean's eyes as he found humour in her worries, forcing her to swallow her doubt and reply "well… I suppose it can't be that hard, after Surozahl nothing can be that scary."

"Thatta girl." Dean grinned.

"I'm going to go pack." She announced before leaving the room.

Once she got back to her room, she collapsed on the bed. Vampires. Never in her life did she ever picture herself seeing a vampire let alone facing one. If Georgie could see her now, she would either be laughing at the idea of her little sister going to hunt the scary monsters they saw in horror movies or worried for her going to face her worst nightmares. But it was a job and she had been the one who decided to stay with the Winchesters so she supposed she would have to pay the price of that.

X

The three hunters made their way to meet Everett in Idaho the next morning, after a day's worth of travelling and a short night's rest in the motel room. They travelled to the outskirts of a forest, known as Yellowstone National Park, where there was a series of wooden cabins lined around the entrance of the trees. Everett looked around Bobby's age, maybe even older, and was dressed in a park ranger's uniform, which seemed to suggest that he had retired from the supernatural routine and settled down to live a normal life.

"Sam, Dean!" he greeted happily, walking up to the two men when he saw them approach in their FBI suits.

"Hey Everett," the older hunter grinned.

"Well I haven't seen you since you were wearing braces and too young drive! Dean, I'd recognize that goofy face from anywhere and Sam you must have grown a metre since I last saw you."

"Yeah, a lot's changed." The younger brother laughed.

"I'm sorry to hear your plans of going to university didn't go to plan."

"It's fine, I guess hunting is what I'm best at anyway." Sam said with a smile yet there was a hint of grimness in his voice.

"Ah well-well who's this?" he said pointing to Emma. "A girlfriend?"

"No," Sam laughed. "This is Emma Viola, she's hunting with us for a while."

"Well tell me dear, what caused you to come to this dark and twisted career path?"

"A demon," Emma explained.

"You were saying about these vampire attacks?" Dean asked.

Everett looked around at his surroundings before saying "come into my office," and they made their way to one of the wooden cabins which was the largest out of the other five neighbouring it.

The inside of the cabin was rather warm with dark brown coloured furniture and walls; it was rather empty except for a desk with a computer resting on top of it and about ten filing cabinets. There were several riffles hanging on the walls and a large stuffed bear standing with its mouth open in the corner.

"We have accounts on all incidents that happen in this park in these filing cabinets." He explained as he walked over to his desk and sat down; the three other hunters went and stood around him. "These are things such as missing persons reports or animal attacks or fires, you get the drift." He went to get a file on the opposite side of his desk and opened it to show pictures of many different bodies, Emma couldn't see a connection with any of them, they were all different genders, ages, weights. No pattern could be detected so far except for two deep holes in the neck and wrists.

"There have been five attacks in three weeks, the cops have said that it is a grizzly but on average there is about one bear attack per season and most of them are never deaths. The rest of the rangers say it's because the public are becoming careless in exploring these woods. They see dumb videos of bears dancing and think that they're just softies but what kind of a bear just bites a person and drains their blood?"

"I'd say it's definitely a vampire." Sam nodded.

"I'm guessing these bastards living in the woods?" Dean questioned.

"I've thought about that, there's an abandoned hut about fifteen miles west, it would be the easiest and closest place the vampires would be able to stay away from the sun."

"Vampire _s_?" Emma asked nervously.

"They like to travel in groups, makes it easier to hunt." Sam explained.

"Oh well that makes this job even more fun." She sighed.

"She's got good spirit, I like it." Everett chuckled.

"So, we'll just go on a fifteen-mile hike and kill these suckers?" Dean asked.

"You'll need a ranger, I would go but my old age has made me be a desk man more than an explorer."

"We'll be fine, we've been in worse situations; it will be like a walk in the park." The older brother stated confidently.

"Well okay if you really want, I'll give you some essential items to help you so at least this old man can help you a little bit."

"Thanks Everett," Sam smiled kindly.

X

"You really could have warned me about hiking before you took me out shopping all that time ago," Emma said lightly to the two boys after changing her clothes in her motel room, finding the most suitable outfit for going into the woods to be a pair of shorts and a dark purple hoodie. The only thing she was worried about were the shoes, which was a pair of white plimsolls, they certainly weren't suitable for hiking.

"It's a fifteen mile walk it's not like we're going to spend the next year living there, besides how is that fricking thing going to help you anyway?" Dean replied, pointing to the dark blue hairband she was wearing on her head.

"It's an accessory," she shrugged. "I wear it just like you wear that necklace."

"Hey," the brother defended, grabbing the chain Sam had given him a long time ago. "This isn't a necklace, it's an amulet, okay? Besides this is different, this has meaning."

"Whatever," she laughed.

"That's better." Dean finished, who had changed into his usual outfit of baggy jeans and many layers of plaid and leather. Sam had also made a minimal effort of changing into clothes suitable for hiking and she supposed they had done these enough times to know what was alright to wear. Or that they were too 'tough' to care about appropriate attire.

"So, how are we going to kill these vampires?" she asked curiously. "You said wooden stakes didn't work?"

"Wonder why I went to a morgue after dropping you two off?"

"No but I really don't want to." Emma admitted.

"Dead man's blood," Dean answered, ignoring her request to not be told.

"Knew I wouldn't like an answer. So…vampires drink blood and so 'dead man's' blood is like gone off milk?"

"Precisely." Sam nodded. "Can't kill them but it'll slow them down."

"So…how _do_ you kill a vampire."

"Behead the bastards." Dean simply replied.

"You can't be serious…right?" Emma nervously.

"Ain't the craziest killing method."

"Since when did you become Henry the Eighth?"

"The hell is he?"

"Look, I know it doesn't sound humane," Sam took over, "But it's the only way that we know of and it's quick and neat if you do it properly with a sharp blade."

"A manchette." Dean corrected.

"And then there's a thing we need to do later to cover our scent." Sam added.

"Well I think we should make our merry way to the woods, the sooner we leave, the sooner I can slice the head off one of these monsters." Dean announced before the three left for Yellowstone National Park for the second time of the day.

X

"So, what have you got here for me boss?" Dean asked the old man, who was over twice his age. There was a large duffel bag behind the retired hunter.

"First of all, three riffles." He said passing them all a narrow, long gun each. "These three beauties have saved many lives over the years and I trust them in your hands."

Sam leant down to the duffel bag and picked it up before hosting it on to his back.

"In there you'll find stuff like a map of the forest and a GPS coordinate finder, there's also things like matches, food, water in there, and I've got you the ingredients to cover your scent from the vampires, all the hiker needs." He advertised.

"Thanks Everett."

"Make sure you three come out alive." He marked wisely before saying goodbye and making his way back into his cabin.

"Well let's get movin'." Dean said smoothly before the three of them entered the dark cage made of trees.

Emma looked at the trees nervously, not knowing what would happen inside but becoming terrified at the knowledge of what lay within. Forests never really provoked fear, if anything they fascinated her. The remote areas rarely touched by civilisation, a true reflection of human absence. But now abnormal things turned out to be hiding within so perhaps the lack of humanity made it strangely even more corrupted.

"You okay?" Sam questioned as he saw her standing still.

"Yeah," she laughed sheepishly, shaking her head and following him into the forest, "Just got a bit distracted with my thoughts."

X

They travelled until the sun dropped behind the wide canvas painted blue, pink and orange. It had been a long and tiring day of walking, with turns of carrying the bag, which felt like it had an elephant sleeping in it, and them only taking short breaks every hour. Luckily, Sam with chivalrous and offered to carry the bag on Emma's shifts when she was too weighed down but unfortunately, Dean wasn't and mocked her when she complained about it being half his weight.

The trees seemed to gather closer together as they got deeper into the woodland, trunks getting thicker, as if they were ganging up on the three hunters. Emma couldn't imagine how there could be a forest that ran for this long or how people could be worried about all the trees being cut down when they had passed a billion trees at least this day alone. She could understand now how people disappeared in this prison and managed to find their way back again, seeing as if they didn't have resources to help them out, they could easily have gotten lost forever in these woods. Whenever she saw a bird flying in a patch of sky, where there was a small gap between the green leaves, she felt slightly jealous of them being able to look down on the trees instead of up at them.

After travelling for almost five hours, they decided to stop for the day as travelling through the dark would be harder and according to Dean it was when the 'vampires come out to play'. They stopped where there was a gathering of logs in a dense, treeless patch of woodland that seemed like the most suitable place to stop for the night.

"Hey look, Everett even gave us toothbrushes and toothpaste." Dean grinned as he searched through the bag with his torch. Seems like we're gonna have to eat beans tonight, he gave us a little saucepan, plates and everything." He said happily. "The son of a bitch didn't put porn in here." He said in disappointment.

"That's all you care about?" Emma disappointedly replied.

"Pretty much, yeah."

"Well I think this should be enough for a while." Sam said carrying a big pile of dead wood in his hands before chucking it on the floor by Emma before they all began to contribute to making a pile.

"Jesus, Em, do you have to be such a perfectionist?!" Dean irritably said as he watched the girl arranging the sticks slowly one by one onto the pile.

"Detail is everything!" She defended.

"We're gonna be setting it on fire!"

"It's fine, Dean, we have time." Sam rolled his eyes.

"Okay…done." Emma proudly placed the final stick on the pile before looking at Sam attempting to set a bunch of dry leaves on fire next to it with a piece of flint and steel.

"Why ain't you using your lighter, dumbass?" Dean shook his head.

"Everett left it in the bag…would be kinda rude not to use what he gave us."

"Okay, well, at least let posh girl here start it."

"Me?" Emma frowned. "Why me?"

"Cos you need to learn this shit. What if you get lost and you're on your own?"

"What?" she panicked. "That- that's not going to happen, right?"

"No, of course not." Sam reassured her before offering her the flint and steel. "But it can't hurt trying."

"I gotta pee." Dean stated before walking away into the darkness.

"Okay, so how do you do this?" Emma asked as she knelt down next to Sam.

"Just act like you're lighting a match." He stated before giving her a demonstration. She took them from him slowly before going to copy the movement, hoping to set the leaves aflame but all that occurred was a couple of sparks.

"Why is this so difficult?" she replied in frustration a minute later. "Okay- okay- I give up."

"Not used to being bad at something?" Sam chuckled before taking it off of her. After a few strokes, the leaves were on fire and thirty-seconds later, the whole pile of sticks were in flames.

"I feel like I just got a D in a test."

"I guess that fancy school of yours is more practical than academic."

"Practical things consisted of how give the perfect handshake or how to socialise with anyone and everyone…in my social class. No Finchwood student ever had the intention of camping."

"Guess you're the first then." Sam stated, making her smile and nod.

"I suppose I'm also the first to hunt a vampire or any monster, in fact."

"Yeah, maybe."

Two hours later they had finished their dinner, brushed their teeth and were now relaxing by the fire, flames burning bright and passionately. Emma and Dean sitting on one log and Sam sat on another at a ninety-degree angle from another. Their chat had turned less 'survival' and more comedic, with Emma and Sam still finding laughter from Dean's eagerness to eat his dinner from earlier on ending up in him choking or them sharing the corniest jokes they knew, Dean in the lead, despite him finding half of them hilarious.

"This fire's making me crave smores." Dean admitted sadly as he prodded the fire with a long marshmallowless stick.

"How many miles till the cabin?" Emma curiously questioned.

"About two." Sam answered.

"And there are vampires in the forest…right now?"

"Yeah but it'll be fine." Sam said before going into the bag and grabbing out a plastic container from within it.

"It looks like a mixture of herbs." Emma analysed as she saw the box which had dry, green, crushed plants inside of it.

"It is. It will cover our scent from the vampires." He said before going to throw it on the fire, it angered the flame, making it go blue and wild, the smoke it created causing Emma to choke and suffocate as the herbs gave off a strong scent.

"So, are we safe now?" she asked hopefully after her throat had cleared, with the help of Sam quickly handing her some water.

"From vampires, yes."

"Oh, so when she chokes, you help but when poor ol' Dean chokes it's a game of who can make the most jokes about it."

"You knew those beans would be hot, it's your own fault for shoving them in your mouth all at once." Emma reminded, making Sam chuckle.

"Oh, I see, gang up on the old man." Dean grumbled. "I'm bored guys."

"Tell a story." Emma suggested she said before going to lean on the older hunter's shoulder.

"Story telling's for wimps."

"Do you want to be bored?"

"No," he groaned. "Okay, okay…let's see…hm. Ah, I remember once when about twenty-four, dad made me go into forest with only a knife and a bottle of water, I had to survive for two whole days in that wood, this was when Sam was living his fancy, easy life in Stanford by the way."

"It wasn't easy, you try getting into a university with no grades or money-" the younger brother started.

"Yeah whatever, anyway my dad thought this would toughen me up for when I was ready to go hunting on my own."

"That's horrible." Emma said quietly. "Why didn't you just pretend you went to the forest and just not?"

"He was my pops and I wasn't going to disappoint him like Sam. After the first night of hunting and surviving by myself it was pretty easy, I even ran into a couple camping out and let's just say that the guy's gal wasn't so loyal to him after that night." He chuckled. "Dad was even pleased with me at the end of it all."

"Was your dad always this atrocious?"

"Yes." Both of the brothers said in unison.

"Once when I was about seven," Sam continued, "a kid in my class at the time gave me a Superman action figure, I didn't even know who 'Superman' was back then but it was the first real gift I'd ever gotten."

"I remember that," Dean laughed. "I think I was jealous of you because of that goddamn doll."

"Remember when dad came home? He got mad and set it on fire he said there was no room for childish things."

"I suppose he was right-"

"I was _seven,_ Dean."

"I suppose he was a lil tough on us." Dean chuckled. "God, do you remember what that thing smelt like when it was burning? We probably inhaled some toxic chemicals."

"S'pose it's better than a burning body." Sam defended.

"I remember when dad made me dig up my first grave. I was barely seventeen. She was some old lady who died fifty years back. Swear to god, I'm gonna be cremated."

"Yeah, you as a ghost would be a nightmare."

"Thanks dude, I appreciate that fact that you'll miss me when I'm gone." He sarcastically answered. "Although, being a ghost would be the frigging worst. No pie. Hell- no food at all! And how would I drive Baby?"

"No sex." Sam stated.

"Nah, I've seen Ghost."

"They did not have sex in Ghost." Sam shook his head.

"You really expect me to believe that that chick was making a pot? Nah, Swayze's the man- dead _or_ alive."

"If anything, I'd think you have a crush on him."

"Shut up." Dean irritably replied before changing the subject swiftly. "So, what's your story Em." He asked, looking over to his shoulder to see the girl unconscious but breathing softly into his arm. He slowly went to retrieve his leather jacket and putting it round the young girl's shoulders before putting his arm around her waist and pulling her closer. "If I ever have kids, I'm gonna let them have as many goddamn superman dolls as they want. I'm not going to raise them like dad raised us, no way in hell!"

"I think you'd be a good father Dean." Sam smiled softly.

" _Ha_ , good one."

"I'm being serious, the way you looked after me, the way you're looking after Emma, you're better at looking after people then you know."

"Thanks Sammy." Dean said gently.

A couple moments of silence ran by before Sam said "get some shuteye, I'll take first watch."

Dean grinned before going to kiss Emma's forehead and stroking her hair softly before closing his eyes, awaiting sleep to take control over him. Away from a world of vampires and within a world of superheroes and ghosts.


	36. Hunter in the Woods

The gentle, smooth, sweet melody that echoed from the beaks of songbirds, which were resting in the branches of the tall trees, was the first thing that hit Emma's ears, causing her to slowly awaken. She felt the sharp rays of sunlight pierce her eyes, bringing her out of the darkness from her dreams, and the morning, early-spring air gave her goose bumps. She opened her eyes to see thick tree trees surrounding her except they were horizontal, making her feel the hard, damp surface her head was pushed against. Head and half of her torso on a log, the rest of her body was slumped on the soft yet sharp woodland floor. Feeling something beginning to slip off her shoulders, she slowly went to retrieve the unknown blanket, discovering that it was Dean's leather jacket, making her smiled slightly and turned to look at the sandy-haired man sitting by the fire, looking extremely tired with bags under his eyes. Then, she turned to her left to see Sam, sleeping on the log at a perpendicular angle to them, brown hair flopped over his eyes and body limp, which gave her the impression that he was in no way ready to be woken. A sudden yawn loudly escaped from her mouth, making Dean grin to see her awake. Wrapping the leather jacket around her arms, she tiredly got up, back aching from the awkward angle she'd been in for the past several hours and stood across from the older hunter.

"Hey Em," he greeted.

"Hey, what time is it?"

"About… half nine." He replied after looking briefly at his watch.

"How long have you been up?"

"Since Sam and I swapped night-watch at four-thirty."

"Bugger. Aren't you tired?" she yawned in concern.

"Sugar, I'm always tired."

"Well I don't want to die by vampires because you're feeling sleepy. Go sleep, I'll wake you when breakfast is ready."

"You're going to make breakfast?" he chuckled at the absurdity.

"No. Sam'll wake up soon I don't doubt. I'll probably give you food poisoning."

"Yeah…that'll shock the vamps." He stood up and stretched.

"Thanks for the blanket," the girl said before taking off his jacket and offering it to him. "I'll think you'll need this more than I do." Dean grinned before going to the log where Emma had just woken up from and fell asleep almost immediately after closing his eyes.

X

The two-hour period when she alone without company was mostly uneventful as she was too scared to fall asleep again in case a vampire came up behind and bit all their necks. Perhaps she was relying on her knowledge from movies a little too much and vampires were far less dramatic. Afterall, Dracula wasn't perticulary about the fanged beasts, despite its famous reputation. The fire was her only source of entertainment and her fatigue caused her to dozily see images in its flames. Luckily, Sam woke up not long after and immediately took on the role of preparing a breakfast of beans.

"So, what now?" Emma asked after they finished when they had finished their breakfast.

"Vampires need to die, we're going to be the ones who kill them." Dean explained simply.

"What, we're just going to knock on their front door?"

"Well it's better than a text to give them a five-minute warning." The older hunter joked.

"Vampires are asleep in the day. We will have the upper hand if we catch them unaware." Sam clarified.

"Cruel but clever." Emma admitted, feeling only slightly sorry for the creatures who were about to be attacked.

"So, Emma, how has your hiking experience been so far?" Dean questioned humorously. "S'pose you ain't used to sleeping on the floor rather than a king-sized mattress."

"I've done DofE, thank you very much."

"The hell is D-O-V?"

"It's something that involves a _lot_ of walking with a bag that probably weighs as much as you on your back and in the middle of the freezing cold winter."

"Well then you can carry _me_ through the woods sweetheart." Dean smiled smugly.

"Although, at least we had a tent then." Emma sighed.

"I'm not a fan of sleeping when I can't feel my skin either." Sam nodded.

"Why are the two of you such high maintence?" Dean rolled his eyes.

"Hey! Says the one who always has to have the freakshake when they want a milkshake."

"That Reece's Pieces shake tasted awesome and you know it!"

"Guys, I'm too exhausted to even listen to this debate."

"Emma's right." Sam nodded. "We got monsters to hunt."

X

"That's the hut." Sam said, pointing to the wooden cabin about fifty feet away. It wasn't as modern or attractive looking as Everett's office, instead it's windows all had at least one crack in them and the rotting wood was discoloured, most parts had lost there vanish they were covered with a long time ago. There were no trees surrounding it, it was like they had sensed the danger inside the hut and decided to run for safety.

"And there are _real_ vampires in there?" she whispered.

"Yeah, but they can't smell or sense us." Sam reassured her.

"Yeah but they can still see us, what if one of them looks out the window?"

"They're asleep remember?" Dean reminded.

"Do you want to stay out here? We're not going to force you to go in there." the long-haired brother. offered.

"No, I've come this far." She said, not wanting to be a coward.

"And you thought you weren't brave." Sam cooed, making her blush slightly.

They slowly began making their way to the wooden cabin. Every time a twig snapped or a bird shrieked from up above, she couldn't help but jump. Each step they took made the tension more concentrated. And she had to reassure herself every few seconds: _Sam and Dean have hunted these things before, they're just vampires, and we have the upper hand here, just like Sam said._

"So, Sam and I will be in charge of cutting these bastards' heads off and Emma, you can be in charge of the dead man's blood darts." Dean said outside the door of the wooden cabin. The redhead nodded as she held the crossbow weapon, feeling slightly empowered by it but nervous at the same time. It was nowhere near an item on her bucket list to shoot a human- or a resemblance of them- but at least she didn't have the gruesome part of the job.

Dean slowly pushed open the hut door and crept in, followed by Sam and Emma. The cabin hallway was empty, the lack of light causing it to look gloomy as they quietly snuck through the corridor. There was no warmth in these walls, no sign that anyone lived here, it was just a loveless, abandoned accommodation.

The eldest hunter went up to the first door and slowly pushed it open, peering his head round before quickly coming back out and closing the door gently.

"How many?" Sam asked in a concerned whisper.

Dean held three fingers up before lifting the sharp machete and slowly opening the door once more. The two hunters followed the older man into the room to see it small and dark inside with no furniture. In fact, the only things in the room were three bodies: a girl and two boys all unconscious on the floor. Seeing as these strangers in the room looked no older than sixteen, Emma opened her mouth in surprise. These vampires were more alikened to _kids_ than monsters.

Sam went to put his machete over one of the boys' head, joined by Dean aiming his knife at the young girl. Suddenly, the floorboard Emma had stepped on made a loud, unsettling groan. All the monsters' eyes flashed open. Sam and Dean quickly reacted by throwing their weapons down onto the two teens, cutting their heads right off. Emma squealed a little in fright after seeing the heads roll off their bodies like bowling balls. She had never seen anything more horrific in her life, not even in the movies.

"Where's the other one?" Sam asked standing up and looking around the room hastily, looking like he had no regret of just murdering a teenager.

Emma unexpectedly felt a pair of cold hands grab her and pull her to the edge of the room by a window blocked out with black paper. She felt one hand wrapped around her waist and the other pulling her head back by her hair, so her neck was free, she felt the vampire's presence in the corner of her eye. She felt her heart beat quicken along with her breathing. She was going to be murdered by a vampire, a fucking vampire.

"You'd drop that weapon if you were smart." He whispered in her ear. She did as he said instantly, dropping her crossbow full of dead man's blood on the floor. "You too." He said to the brothers, they hesitated before dropping their defence arms. He went to sniff her neck and pulled her body closer, she leant back on the monster behind her, feeling the blood pumping hot under her skin. She couldn't speak, she couldn't even move.

"You killed my friends." The vampire stated in a dangerous tone.

"Look buddy," Dean said lightly. "Let Em go and we can all sort this out like adults."

"You kill my blood, I kill yours." He said in a harsh tone. Emma felt a pair of fangs pierce the left side of her neck and she squirmed away from the man's teeth but he pulled her hair so she came back to him.

"So, is this like a kiddie vampire squad huh?" Dean asked. "Where's your alpha?"

"You're looking at him."

"You're the alpha?" Sam asked in a surprised voice.

"I'm the leader."

"That doesn't make you the alpha pal." The short haired hunter admitted.

"I ran away from my old 'vamp-family' and came made my own one and we were more powerful than ever, until you came along and ruined everything. Well guess what, I learnt about hunters before I ran away and vampires will always be stronger than man."

Emma looked at Sam and Dean with wide eyes, it may have been the last time she saw them, it may be the last time she saw anything again. She would die in this prison of trees by a monster from her nightmares, never to the light of day again. Her eyes widened even more. The sun. She quickly kicked the vampires shin, he yelled, giving her a split second to turn around and pull the black paper off the window, letting the light stream through. The vampire grabbed her again but growled angrily at the sun's power and let her go once more, covering his face with his hands.

A second later, his head was clean off and on the floor along with his crumpled body no longer keeping her captive and in decision about whether she lived or died.

" _Fuck_." Emma whispered weakly.

"Good thinking Em!" Dean said thumping her on the shoulder.

"I can't believe I was almost killed by a vampire." She turned to hug him.

"Ah don't worry. We wouldn't have let that happen."

"Uh-huh, very bloody convincing." She snapped before apologising, "Just a bit shocked, sorry."

"Are you okay?" Sam asked her.

"Yeah- wait, no…can we just get out of here?"

"Sure."

"What-what do we do with the bodies?"

"This place is abandoned. I don't want to waste time burying some goddamn monsters."

They made their way out of the hut, Emma was still shaking, still scared from the vampire's presence but thankful that he was dead and the hunt over.

X

Lewis' eyes snapped open, what time was it? Wondering about this question, he sat up. Seeing as Brian had turned him only a few days ago, he still wasn't used to being nocturnal, it was like jet lag from travelling to the other side the world. He growled angrily at his hunger for blood, they hadn't killed in two days, seeing as the mysterious killings were beginning to cause suspicion. He got up and went to the other room to see the others, he didn't feel like sleeping.

Bodies, heads, blood splayed on the floor like a city of red. Lewis opened his mouth in shock before an uncontrollable rage erupted in his stomach. He ran back to his room and woke the only other vampire. The blonde girl slowly woke before an irritable expression greeted him.

"Why the fuck did you wake me?" she groaned. "It's day."

"April, our family's been murdered!" Lewis told her in a harsh whisper.

"What?! It can't be true. You're lying!"

"I'm not, we're the only two left."

"How?"

"Remember how Brian warned us about those bastard who knew about our being and dedicated their dumb little lives to killing us?"

"Hunters." April growled. "They killed our family. I'm going to rip the heads off those sons of bitches! Are you with me?"

"Yeah, of course." Lewis said confidently, the people who killed his family would pay.

X

"We're about two miles now, we can make it out tonight, I ain't spending another night in these fricken woods." Dean announced, sounding tired but determined. The sun had gone down about an hour ago and they were now travelling by torch light.

"I just want to be back in civilisation again." Emma admitted, body still feeling tingly from being held hostage hours earlier.

Suddenly a twig snapped from around the corner, making all three of the hunters froze.

"What's that?" Emma nervously asked.

Two people emerged from the woods, two teenagers. "Murderers." The girl shouted before they bared their teeth, showing their pearly white fangs in the pale torch light.

"Emma," Sam said steadily as he and Dean got their machetes out, "Run."

Emma didn't run but instead she stood still on the spot; they were supposed to be dead. They were all supposed to be dead.

" _Run_!" Dean yelled at her. Before she knew it, she felt her legs moving at her running through the trees without looking back.

Lewis growled and stared after her hungrily, but Sam broke his concentration by saying "hey, it's us you want. We killed your family."

"You're gonna pay!" Lewis warned.

"Why, you were killing people?" Dean stated.

"For survival."

"Human blood is not survival." Sam spat.

"So? It's fun doing it. First it was our maths teacher and then a Mr Brown, the shop keeper dick who wouldn't give us beer-"

"Wait, you were killing people you knew?"

"We were killing people we _hate_."

"Wow, you really are sickos." Dean said. "A bunch of kiddies turning themselves into monsters just for some dumb revenge."

"We're not kids." April screamed furiously.

"Yeah well killing people you hate isn't exactly mature." Sam defended.

"You know what, why aren't we killing you already?" April yelled before charging at him, while Lewis went to attack Dean.

After a matter of seconds, Dean had beheaded his attacker, the poor guy wasn't experienced enough, he doubted he had even killed before. He quickly grabbed the crossbow and shot a dart of dead man's blood into the girl attacking Sam's back. She yelled in pain, giving Sam the prime opportunity to cut off her head. The two brothers looked at each other as the girl's body slumped to the woodland floor.

"That was quick." Sam admitted.

"Why didn't we check the other rooms before we left? I mean there's dumb and then there's that." Dean sighed.

"C'mon we need to go find Emma."

"Yeah and then I want to go to sleep and never wake up again." Dean grumbled as he wiped his blade on the grass. "Frigging kids these days, man! Who's raising them!?"

X

They searched for Emma for twenty minutes, following her in the direction she started running away from them but the floor was dry, meaning there were no footsteps to suggest where she had gone.

"EMMA!" Sam yelled for the one hundredth time out into the darkness.

"How could she have gotten this far she was only- what- a minute ahead of us?" Dean frowned in frustration.

"These woods are confusing, it's easy to get lost."

"Well we're never going to find her in this fricken darkness."

"What do we do then?"

Dean sighed before answering "we go back to the motel."

"Dean, we can't leave her in here, she has no torch, no map, nothing."

"Well we ain't going to find her tonight." Dean yelled before sighing. "I don't want to leave her in here- of course I don't- but she's a smart kid, she could even be out of the woods. We don't know till we look. We're only less than a mile away from civillisation, she'll be easy to find and there are park rangers always patrolling the place. We'll find her, I promise." Dean said confidently.

"Fine." Sam sighed, he was in no way happy in abandoning Emma in the woods but there was a possibility that she had gotten out. Besides, he knew that a girl like Emma would be able to survive in the woods for one night without a doubt…or at least he had hoped.

X

Emma carried on sprinting through the forest for another five minutes, too scared that there was a vampire on her tail to stop. Had she escaped from them or were they slowly hunting her like a lion to a lamb? Were they even chasing her? Were they both focused on Sam and Dean instead? Had the brothers won, had they killed the monsters and now looking for her?

All the questions and worry made her stop, she was exhausted seeing as she had already been travelling for hours and was tired herself before they were intruded. She leant down to catch her breath, her skin feeling like it was on fire and her mouth dry as a desert in the hot sun. Where the hell was she? The trees were surrounding the redhead with their sharp thick daggers; they certainly weren't there to make her feel safe. She didn't hear anything, no crows flying away or no twigs snapping, maybe the vampires weren't chasing her anymore and perhaps they never were. Emma wanted to return to the brothers, she didn't know how to get out of these woods, certainly in the dark. Which way did she come from? Each direction was the same and every single tree looked identical.

Leaning against a wide, rough tree trunk, she put her heads in her hands. This was starting to become bloody terrifying, how did things become so complicated so quickly? She shook the worries from her head, knowing that the brothers would have defeated the villan, like they always did. There was nothing to be frightened about. Besides, Dean said they were only two miles away, she had to make her way through a forest for Duke of Edinburugh, and this was no different except she was on her own this time. She would make her way out of these woods and then she would find Everett and he could help her find Sam and Dean. Easy.

Beginning to make her way through the prison-like woodlands, she realised very soon how hard treking through the darkness was, having to be careful with every step incase she stood in a bear trap or tripped over a branch. She was considering setting up a campfire and stopping for the night, but she certainly didn't want to prolong her time these woods when she was so close to the open air and real world. Suddenly, she heard a twig snap behind her, she quickly went to hide behind one of the large trees, the fear returning to her once more. She glanced round to see a yellow torch light shining through the darkness, outlining the deadly trees.

"Hello?" a thick Irish voice echoed through the forest. She studied his face, he was blonde and so he wasn't the brown-haired vampire she saw earlier. "Is anyone out there? I'm lost." His voice sounded hopeful, like he was depending on someone to be out there in the forest's cage to help him out, Emma felt like they had that in common. Slowly came out from behind the tree, the light immediately found her, causing her to squint in the bright, painful light, which contrasted with the darkness she had been struggling to see for the last half an hour or so.

"Who are you?" she asked as the light came off her face.

"Oh, thank god someone's here!" he said, quickly walking over to her. "I'm Daegal," he said, shining the torch on himself to reveal his identity. He was tall, maybe Dean's height, with defined cheekbones and an equally sharp jawline, his eyes were a piercing blue and rested under a pair of thick eyebrows. He had light, brown stubble which surrounded a pair of pink, smooth lips. His hair was a dark blonde which flopped over his eyes like an adorable teenage boy you'd see in the movies.

"I'm Emma," she replied, quite over taken by the man's handsomeness but hoping that the torchlight wouldn't locate her blush.

"You're English," he stated in a surprised voice. "How lost am I?"

"No, don't worry." She laughed. "You're still in America. How did you get lost?"

"I don't know, I was camping with a couple of lads on holiday and then we were attacked by a bear, we all ran and here I am."

"Oh gosh." She said in shock.

"I know it's been quite a day."

"Well I don't think we're that far away from the edge of the woods, they'll be park rangers, they could help you find your friends."

"Thank you." Daegal said in relief, running a hand through his hair. "I thought I was going to be in here forever!"

"I know how you feel." She giggled.

"So, can you help me get out of here?"

"Yeah, sure!" she said eagerly, feeling quite flushed, this guy needed _her_ help.

They began continuing in the direction Emma thought was the way out, Daegal shone his torch to guide their feet, which she was thankful for, she hated travelling alone in the dark.

"So, are you on holiday from Ireland?" she asked a couple of minutes later, not wanting to make him feel bored about the lack of conversation she was giving.

"No, no, I came here two years ago, for work, to support my mam."

"Aw, that's so kind of you." She said, feeling her heart warm and make her stomach feel as if it were fainting.

"I know, I'd do anything for her. So, are you here on holiday?"

"No, well, I'm kind of on a road trip." She explained. "Not in a forest…this is just hiking."

"How old are you?" Daegal asked.

"Seventeen."

"I'm twenty-one. What's a sweet girl like you doing in the woods?"

"Just exploring," she said casually, blushing at the word 'sweet'. "With two other guys."

"One of these guys your boyfriend by any chance?"

"No," she replied maybe a little too quickly.

Daegal chuckled before stopping before shining his torch on the tree in front of him.

"What is it?" Emma asked enthusiastically.

"I recognize this tree, we passed it when we first entered these woods." He said in excitement.

"You did?" she said feeling hopeful once more.

"Yeah, I know the way, follow me."

They reached the edge of the forest around ten minutes later after they almost started running their way there, both wanting to escape this cage of trees as fast as they could. They both stood on the edge line by the final trees before the green, sweet grass. Emma hesitated, she felt the freedom on her shoulders like a heavy armour, they were so close to being out of the woods. She saw the huts where the park rangers would be along with Everett to help both her and Daegal.

"Thank you for helping me." The blonde man said, turning to face her.

"It's fine." She grinned, "You helped me too remember."

"I did." He said, looking into her eyes, she looked back into his blue ones shining in the darkness. They both slowly leant forward before their lips met.

It was warm and sweet, Daegal's soft lips locking on hers. Suddenly it felt weird, like something was trying to burst out of her stomach. She felt her body go limp and her vision fading before everything went completely black and motionless.


	37. Cave of Shadows

**Hey guys, sorry I haven't uploaded for a while- I started university (whoop whoop!).**

 **Here's the next chapter and FYI I have made slight changes to the first couple of chapters in this story because they have been bothering me for sometime now and so they've been developed into what I can read back without cringing at.**

 **So, feel free to visit those first couple of chapters because I think it makes the whole story flow a bit better and makes it seem a little more realistic (despite mentions of demons, angels and time-travel).**

 **Anyway, enjoy this chapter and please let me know if you do by following, favouriting or leaving a review!**

Sam woke up the next morning in his motel room, feeling sore and immediately stressed about something he didn't know about. slowly getting up, he got changed as his brother continued to mumble something about a girl named Kelly in his sleep. Yesterday's hunt exhausted him mentally and physically and all of his bones felt as if they needed oil. He splashed some cold water from the sink on his face after brushing his teeth before he remembered the final event from yesterday: the vampires, telling Emma to run, killing the monsters and finally being unable to find the redhead. "Crap," he muttered in guilty realisation, quickly throwing the towel onto the toilet lid and running out of the room and to the door of Emma's.

He pounded on the door. There was no answer. "Emma?" he shouted, "Emma, are you in there?" after waiting twenty-seconds for a response, he groaned slightly. This couldn't be happening. He suddenly felt himself throwing his hip against the wood so the door burst open, letting him see an empty room. His fears had been validated.

Going back to his own motel room, he quickly woke his older brother up.

"What!" he groaned as he wiped some dribble away from his lips.

"Emma- still gone- she didn't come home." Sam summarised.

"Shit!" he sat up. "She's still in the fricken woods."

"Come on, get changed, we gotta go back."

"So, you've killed all the vampires but you lost the girl, Emma?" Everett summarised in his office after hearing the boy's explanation half an hour later.

"Yeah and now we need to find her, she shouldn't be that far off, we were about four miles away when Sammy and I were attacked." Dean explained. "I mean, she probably just…fell asleep, right? And it wasn't that cold last night so she probably just decided to…set up camp or somethin', right?"

"I don't know son…dangerous woods, could be got-knows what in there."

"Well, we ended the main-predator, right? That's gotta make it a little safer."

"No woods is safe for a girl in the middle of the night."

"We know." Sam guiltly sighed. "Can you do anything?"

"I'll put a couple of park rangers and dogs on patrol to go help find her." Everett said, rubbing his head with his right hand. "But you might not find what you want."

"We don't care, do what it takes." Dean decided grimly.

X

Emma slowly opened her eyes; her head was sore like someone was constantly banging on her skull with a mallet. She groaned and sat up only to find that it was freezing and wet in here. Looking around, she predicted herself to be in a dark cave, the only light coming from the entrance about ten metres away. She tried to stand up but something prevented her, a thick handcuff attached to a rusty metal chain pulling her to the floor. Hissing in pain from the metal bracelet irritating her wrist, she tried to pull it off but it wouldn't budge, the shackles were too tight. The chain led to be attached to a metal plate stuck to the cave wall. Where the hell was she? After pulling it again, she winced, beginning to feel clustraphobic and feeling panic rush through her veins. Before she could think any further about the confusing yet concerning situation she was in, she heard footsteps echoing on the cave floor. She turned to her right to see a figure coming in the cave mouth, its dark form contrasting with the light of day falling behind the mysterious figure.

It didn't seem to notice its enslaved guest at first, choosing instead to light some torches attached to the walls, making the cave light up in a bright, powerful orange and casting shadows of the two people in there on the walls. The figure then went to stand opposite Emma, but his face was still in the makeup of darkness. The voice, however, didn't need verifying. She knew him instantly.

"Hello Emma," a harsh, thick Irish greeted, his voice clawing its way into the girl's ears and it gave her an unpleasant effect.

"Dea-Deagal?" she stuttered. She had to be dreaming, trapped in a nightmare where she had no clue how to wake up. The sweet, lost, Irish man she had so luckily found yesterday couldn't be the man who had imprisoned her here. Not the man who cared so dearly about his mother and had kindly helped her escape the forest.

"So, you remember me? That's odd… normally dementia is a side effect."

"What side effect?" she asked hastily, looking around to find other captures in here. "A side effect of what?"

"You have a lot of questions, don't you?"

"Yeah and you're not doing a good job of answering me." She snapped.

"You've changed you're no longer 'ooh kiss me Daegal' are you?" he imitated her.

Emma opened her mouth, feeling suddenly mortified. He was just another one of those boys, one who possessed such a sweet façade to hide their rotten insides. "Why did you do this?" she whispered.

Daegal chuckled slightly. "How do you feel?"

"I have a headache…the worst headache I've had."

"Good."

"How's that good?"

"It's normal. I mean if you're in pain now, it's only going to get a whole lot worse."

"Wha-what did you do to me?" she asked, feeling sweat start to form on her skin, she didn't like being here. She hated it, with this psychopathic man and his cruel, perplexing humour.

"I didn't do it, you did it to yourself."

"What did you do?" did he drug her, did he put a remedy on his lips before he kissed her? Why did she kiss him? How could she have been so idiotic? _Again_.

"I don't know why I am talking to you. It's always a bit stupid to speak to a meal." He sighed.

"What do you mean?" she asked, her voice raising and going more brittle with every word she spoke. "You're a cannibal?" she really regretted revealing her identity to this man, why did she think that she could trust a stranger in the woods? She put her head against the cave wall, her head now even more sore from the fear she felt.

"No, for a cannibal you have to be human."

"You're a monster?" she whispered, how could there have possibly been two supernatural monsters in these woods, they had just faced one.

"I'm not a monster, Emma, I'm a Geurouxa."

"Well if you're not a monster, then why have you imprisoned me here?" she asked through heavy breathing, what the hell was a 'Geurouxa'?

"A human eats meat and plants to survive, they are killing living things, are they monsters? That's what I'm doing, I'm surviving."

"Well I've met monsters, and I know two guys that hunt things like you for a living so you better let me go otherwise you're going to end up dead."

"You're a hunter? I've never eaten a hunter's soul before…I wonder what effect you'll give me?" his eyes gleamed gluttony.

"My soul? You're going to eat my _soul_?"

"I already am."

"W-What?" this thing was eating her soul? _Was this thing eating her soul!?_ She wanted to break out of these chains and shoot this monstrous, deceiving, heartthrob bastard straight in the chest. But she couldn't, and the emotion that replaced her resentment to this parasite was the feeling of deep, unwanted and disquieting fear in the pit of her stomach. She knew the brothers would come, they had to…but could they save her soul when it had already been partially destroyed? Of course, they would be able to save her, they always killed the monster in the end, they would come for her, wouldn't they? She tried to remain calm but she couldn't, this thing in front of her was slowly taking away her soul. Would she die if she lost it or would she remain an empty shell forever, being lost from emotions and human compassion forever?

"Emma, try to relax." Daegal said to her softly. "Stress is never the answer."

"Well you try remaining calm when someone is slowly killing you." She snapped, she was frightened of this thing without a doubt but she had never loathed anything more in her entire life, even Surozahl seemed kinder than him. Maybe it was the Winchesters' courage and bravery in the face of evil rubbing off on her. She wished they were here to help her now, to tell her everything would be alright and they were on their way to help her.

"If it helps, you're the toughest young lady I've ever captured."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Daegal chuckled at the question before replying "We've all got our prey Emma, you're just used to being at the top of the food chain."

"So how long?" she sniffed, "How long until you're done with me?"

"On average, they normally survive three to five days. You're at stage one, at first you'll feel like there's somebody in your head." He explained playfully, Emma nodded gently at the tenderness of her head being evident to the first step of the slow, horrible journey. "Then you'll start to get weak, you might get paralysed by the legs and arms and you'll feel like you've just run a hundred miles in one go or you've just lifted a really big elephant. Now, here's where the fun really begins, you'll start to hallucinate or hear voices, it's always funny to hear."

"You're sick." She whispered. "Why don't you just kill me quickly?"

"Emma, you savour a roast dinner, don't you? Look I'll leave you with your last days of well-being." He said before slowly making his way out of the cave and into the light of day.

Emma brought up her knees to her chest and buried her head on them, trying to comfort herself as no one else could. Even in her days of grief for Georgie, she had never felt more alone then she did now. A drop of water slowly trailed its way down her left cheek before followed by an entire army of tears. She tried to think of Alex, Alfie, Kev, Georgie but no memory seemed sweet, funny or happy enough to overcome Daegal's shadow of fear casting over her, maybe it was because he now had some of her soul himself? She wanted to see Sam or Dean, to hear their confident voices, making her feel like her death was escapable once more but how could she when she didn't know if they were even alive? She buried her head deeper in her knees, trying to get rid of the headache possessing the core of her brain and begged for sleep to overcome her and take her away from this prison for at least an hour or two, even a dark twisted nightmare would be like the sweet motion of release for her at this time of need.

X

"We've scavenged the entire forest, we have had a whole squad of park rangers check every inch, the dogs haven't found any trace of your friend, I'm sorry." The leader of the patrol of park rangers apologized. It was now nightfall; they had been searching these woods for over twelve hours. Nothing had been found, _nothing_.

"Well I don't care; you go back in there and search again!" Dean commanded at the leader with an enraged expression.

"Look I'm sorry, even with Everett saying this was a special case, there's only so much we can do. Maybe she's not even in the woods."

"No, she would've gone straight to Everett or a park ranger of something. We would _know_ if she was out."

"Well if not…these are dangerous woods and people do go missing and I hate to tell you this but there are extremely treacherous parts too, she could have tripped and fell in a lake for all we know. I'm sorry, but we can't help you any further." The park ranger bowed his head before deserting the brothers in the dark outskirts of the forest.

"This is the worst fricken day ever." Dean sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"We shouldn't have told her to run Dean." Sam said miserably.

"I know, I thought it would've been the safest option. God, how could we have lost her so easily?"

"Stop talking about her like she's a failed case, Dean, she's not dead."

"Well, where the hell is she then?"

"I don't know but if I know anything, I know she wouldn't die by falling in a friggin lake."

"Yeah well you and I are on the same page there."

"I'm not going to leave this here."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go look for her again; I don't give a rat's ass about the rangers giving up."

"Sam, that forest goes on for miles-"

"I don't care, she's our responsibility, and she's family, Dean and you and me both know that we don't leave our family behind. There has to be some trace of her in there that the rangers couldn't pick up on, I know it. So, I'm going to do this, with or without your help."

"Of course, I'm going to help you moron." Dean replied angrily. "We'll start tomorrow, okay?"

Sam nodded with a grimace on his face; the two brothers were set to find the young redhead no matter what it would take.


	38. Wish of a Winchester

It had been an entire day. Twenty-four hours' worth of feeling the metal shackle's grip on her left wrist and the tedious view of the orange lit cave but it had felt like a year. Her headaches had gotten more intense and she wasn't sure if it was the fear in her imagination or not, but she could feel herself slowly losing control of her body. Her feelings were more associated with boredom than terror mostly because she knew the Winchesters would be coming shortly. They had to rescue her just as she had when they were trapped in the sewer. Besides, they were right with her in the woods so it wouldn't take them long to locate her. It was just boring waiting for them.

"Hey Emma," Daegal greeted with a wide grin as he entered the dark cave from the brightness of the outside with a plate in his hand. "Man, I feel alive, you, on the other hand, have looked better."

"Thanks." She bitterly answered. She felt less fear towards the blonde heartthrob now, maybe it was because she had less energy now to be anxious. He'd showcased all his power but she still knew that the Winchester's would know exactly how to kill a parasite like him.

"The food will make you feel better, I promise." He smiled before handing her the plate. Although it was only rice and didn't have a particularly exciting fragrance, it still smelt delicious. She put it on her lap and used her unchained hand to eat. She had no energy to lift the fork to her mouth. It took her about ten minutes to finish the small portion but it did make her feel slightly better, like it was a thin blanket to protect her in a cold winter's night.

"Why are you feeding me?" she frowned. "It's not like I'm going to survive for much longer anyway?"

"Honestly, something about seeing you gradually lose your strength satisfies every fibre in my body." He knealt down opposite her before his hand went to caress one of her bent knees, making her try to shift away and a chuckle to escape his throat and echo through the cave. "You will never understand how delicious a human soul will taste." He scratched the top of her knee before scraping his fingers down her thighs making her shift uneasily. "It's not like meat, you see. Meat taste like muscle and blood and flesh but when you click into the true flavours of a soul, it's an infinity of rich, sweet, spiced emotion. Sadness…resentment…" he suddenly yelled and pounced on her body with his hands on her shoulders, causing her to gasp in shock and then breathe in and out heavily. "Fear. And especially with a girl like you, Emma, with your naivety and your sweet anxiety, always uncertain, always letting your little mind worry about stupid things, your paranoia is like…a sweat grease glazing your soul and your youth is like sprinkled sugar. And the higher your energy, the longer your soul lasts. I am savouring every last taste so I'll feed you until you're no longer physically able to eat. Anyway, you enjoy yourself and I shall be back in five hours with dinner." He announced before leaving the cave once more.

Emma breathed out shakily, feeling on the verge of tears but she forced her eyes to remain dry. She wasn't going to be this monster's entertainment. She If only she could escape. Minutes slowly dragged past as Emma stared into the empty dim-lit wall in front of her, having nothing to do except pray that Sam and Dean were seconds away. Except hours went past and her faith in the Winchesters began to loosen. What would they do if they were here in this situation? They wouldn't certainly sit here and mope about their situation…they would try to escape.

But how? She sighed as she looked down at her chained wrist; they're was no way she would be able to get out of that without a key. Her mind flashed back to the last and only other time she was in cuffs, which was when Dean trapped her inside the Impala minutes before she witnessed her first ever ghost…she had gotten out her hairgrip and managed to unlock the lock easily. But she didn't have a hairgrip this time. Her head began to hurt even more as she tried to unlock this difficult situation.

What else could open a lock without a key or hairgrip? She then smiled widely as a flash of hope as her unchained hand slowly reached up to her head as she pulled off her hairband, begging that it contained exactly what she needed. Crying softly out in relief when she felt the hard wire hiding in the soft, cotton fabric, she poked the wire point out of the material and ripped the rest of the textile off before stuffing it in her hoodie pocket and then straightened out the thin, flexible metal so it was like a rod.

Praying that it would work, she inserted it into the lock, it was hard to manage with her left hand but after a minute or so, she finally felt the shackles loosen and fall off. Her eyes widened in shock, she was almost certain it wouldn't work. Grinning in delight at her sole mission of escape being a success, she quickly stood up, feeling bliss about finally being free.

Her legs buckled slightly and it was hard to keep her balance. It must have been either due to being sat down for a whole day, a side effect from her soul being taken away from her or a mixture of both. She managed to gain control in the end, despite taking a few moments to bring motion back fully to her legs. but she was soon making her way to the cave entrance. She never knew how satisfying the light of day could feel on her skin, being out in the open really made her realise what freedom felt like.

Even though her head was causing her to crease in pain and her legs were slowly getting weaker, she moved as quickly as she could to escape this place. She had to find Sam and Dean, they had obviously defeated the vampires…they had to have survived because she was counting on them. They were probably looking for her right now and she would find them any moment's time. Despite, from what the monster told her, she had two days left and forty-eight hours was more than enough time to find people who were also looking for her.

She had travelled for another ten minutes, hoping that she was at least going in the right direction, as the last thing she needed was getting even more lost. Maybe she would bump into a park ranger, maybe they would take her back to Everett and he could get the brothers and… _snap_. She quickly stopped, skin pricking up at the violent noise. What was that? An animal? A ranger? A _Winchester_?

"Emma," the voice that she knew all too well shouted angrily out into the forest, the voice she had grown to hate. The sound of Daegal yelling her name echoed out into the forest, making her quickly limp over to a gathering of trees. He couldn't've found it- it was impossible. "You really think you could hide from me? I have your soul remember?"

Did that mean he could track her down like a hound to a fox? Did he have some kind of link to her now because he owned something that was truly hers? Still hopeful for her chance of escaping, she hid her identity in the trees, the thing she regretted not doing the last time she bumped into the Irish man in the woods.

"I spy…" he announced slowly to the trees. His voice had transitioned from angry to playful. He knew where she was and she was now just a part of his hunt again.

Feeling hot tears suddenly burn her skin, the realisation sunk in. The Winchesters weren't coming for her. All there was in these woods were her and Daegal and she had foolishly failed to escape. But she didn't want to be taken into that cave again with its small walls and dark dank insides. Yet he would find her and extremely soon and the fear was inevitable. But Sam and Dean _had_ to be looking, even if they weren't here right now, they had to be at least trying to find her. They were the last fading pieces of hope she had left.

"With my little eye…" Daegal continued, making her heartbeat increase double in a space of seconds. There had to be something she could do to help Sam and Dean find her. Her shaky hands went inside her pocket and pulled out the fabric of her hairband. Tying it to the tree with her feeble hands, she managed to secure it around a low branch.

"An unconscious redhead." she heard finally before everything went black and she felt her body hit the hollow woodland before she knew no more.

X

"EMMA?" Sam yelled in the forest for the seventh hundredth time in the first hour of travelling. The two hunters were tired, stressed and in the same forest they had only just escaped from, both in need of a shower and a decent meal but neither having time with more important matters on their plate. The wood was beautiful in the spring, flowers were in bloom and rays of sun were shining through the trees. A man could take a picture at any angle and use it as evidence to how the world was a planet created with intention of harmony or natural beauty but the Winchesters could see nothing but the scratches on the trunks or hear the screeches of the birds.

"Look dude, I think it's pointless yelling if she can't hear us." Dean admitted stressfully as stepped on dry branches to make them snap in two.

"What if she's here somewhere looking for us as well? She could just be lost and trying to find her way out." Sam confidently defended before yelling her name again.

"Well then the park rangers would have found her or the dogs would've."

"Maybe the rangers missed her, she could have been moving at the time and the park rangers just covered her areas at the wrong time, besides it was raining yesterday that could have blocked her scent."

"Maybe, I just don't think-" Dean started before stopping in his tracks. His eyes widened before he ran over five metres to one of the smaller trees.

"What?" Sam asked eagerly once he caught up with his brother.

"This," Dean said, ripping off a blue piece of fabric from one of the low branches from the tree. "This is Emma's."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I made fun of it." He grimly stated as he ran the fabric through his fingers before squeezing it in his fist. "It's definitely hers."

"Thank God." Sam sighed in relief. "She must've left it for us as a clue."

"Something's missing from it, the thing that made it… non-floppy."

"What like stuffing or a wire?" Sam said.

"Yeah, but why would she…" Dean started before stopping, his posture suddenly going from slouched to straight as his eyes squinted darkly. "This isn't a clue Sammy; this is a cry for help. C'mon, why else would she need the wire for?"

"Self defence?" he frowned in concern.

"Or to unlock something."

"She's running from something then?"

"She left this here because she knew we'd find it. She's in danger. I know it."

"It must be pretty recent… the dogs didn't catch a scent from it." Sam realised.

"Well that we have time to find her."

"So, what do we do?"

"We go back to Everett, find out what other supernatural bastards live in these woods." Dean decided in a dark tone. Whatever damn thing had even thought of hurting Emma would certainly pay and that was one thing he was certain of.

X

"You think another monster took your friend?" Everett asked in a serious, frail voice. The two brothers had made their way back to their old friend's cabin as soon as their situation became a little clearer, after remembering how he had access to information that may have been of use to them.

"Yes, sir," Dean said confidently.

"And we don't think that Emma is its first victim." Sam added with a grimace.

"This is a lot of information to withhold. Are you sure it's not a crazy son of a bitch instead?"

"Maybe but I can just sense something about this being not natural." Dean growled. "First thing's first, we're gonna check all of your missing person reports."

"All of them?" Everett asked in shock.

"Precisely,"

"But there are hundreds of files going back decades-"

"We don't care, whatever it takes." Sam answered.

"Okay, well they are all in the filing cabinets, I'll get out the missing persons reports but I really don't know what use they'll be, many of them were dumb kids doing dares or running away from home."

"Thank you, Everett." Dean replied softly.

"Well, anything for you boys I suppose. Whatever I can do for an old friend in my old age is good enough for me."

Sam looked at Dean and their expressions were so clear to read, all they did was nod simultaneously as their shoulders broadened and their arms crossed over their chests. An unexpected case had just become their priority.


	39. The Last Grains of Sand

**Hey, sorry for the late update but happy holidays and here's the next chapter!**

Ice. Freezing. Water. Wet. Emma gasped herself awake, shivering violently as she was too dazed from the sudden transition from sleeping to consciousness to fully understand what was going on and even words wouldn't form properly in her mind. Water was stinging her eyes and her hair was dripping an icy substance down her back, attacking her spine as her brain freezed up painfully. She managed to remember her whereabouts and her situation seconds later but- if anything- that just made her colder.

"You deserve that." She heard a harsh Irish voice hiss. Daegal threw a bucket on the floor, which made a loud clang on the cave floor, as he stood a foot away from the shivering girl. "You really thought you could escape from me? _Me_!?" His voice was too loud for her ears, her headache was about one hundred times worse than when she last remembered it and she now felt weaker than ever, she couldn't even lift up her arms and legs.

"Say sorry." He ordered a minute later once the noise of teeth chattering quietened down. She tried to but she couldn't move her lips let alone let any words out. "SAY SORRY!" he yelled, the next thing she felt was a hand strike her face, so harshly it reawakened the nerves in her cheek to burn against the ice.

"S-or-ry-"she slurred, it was like even her tongue had given up on her.

"Yes, you should be. No one has ever dared define me before; I would have slit your throat if I didn't need you alive. Anyway," he said standing up and rubbing his forehead, "I'm going to be finished with you soon and I know that was the last little stunt that you'd pull, I mean you can't even move anymore." He cackled.

"H-ho-ow lo-lon-g?" she asked slowly through shivering weakly.

"Not long at all, you weak little fool."

Daegal wouldn't be able to tell from the dim light and the water droplets on her face but Emma felt the tears burning as they heated up her face. She hadn't ever truly thought about dying before, however imminent she knew death was, but she wouldn't've ever imagined it being like this. Hostage to a coldblooded monster disguised as an Irish sweetheart. The fire that been in her mind had finally been put out and she was here in the darkness, with him and this little corner of hell and she had nothing to do but shiver until her body wouldn't let her no more.

X

"The only connection we have with Emma and anyone else is about fifteen cases with missing girls." Sam announced, throwing another missing persons file on to the growing pile. The two brothers had been searching for hours now, the sun moving quickly across the sky behind them and the day of light being slowly taking over with darkness.

"Do you think that could lead to anything?" Dean asked, rubbing his head and holding back a yawn.

"Well it's the only thing that makes sense to me out of any of these damn files. They were all girls, young, pretty and all of their bodies were never found. The data goes back about sixty-four years and there has been a few every decade or so."

"Well I still don't know what the hell this thing could be and I feel like I'm going frigging crazy."

"Well let's get someone who can," Sam said before getting out his phone and a few seconds later it was dialling on speaker.

" _Hello?"_ The rough voice of Bobby greeted through the small device.

"Hey Bobby," Sam repeated tiredly.

" _Hey Sam you sound awful, what's going on?"_

"We need you to do something for us." Dean explained.

" _No surprise there from you boys,"_ the man admitted bitterly.

"We need you to find what kind of a thing kidnaps teenage girls and lives in places like woods in Idaho."

" _Well that could be many things- wait…why the hell do you need me researching this? Boys?"_ the man said dangerously after a few seconds of silence. _"Don't tell me that what I'm thinking is true."_

"Emma's kind of…missing." The younger brother revealed.

" _Missing, you lost her!?"_

"Hey it wasn't our fault!" the older brother defended. "We were hunting vampires-"

" _You took her hunting vampires? Are you out of your damn minds?"_

"She's gotten better at hunting, Bobby." Sam told the older man.

" _Yeah but just cos you got an A in chemistry doesn't mean you're good at physics, boy."_

"Look, we're sorry Bobby but we need your help finding her."

The older man sighed before muttering some swears indicated towards the brothers and then answering _"Fine, I'll do it. So… it's a thing that captures young girls in the woods?"_

"Pretty much yeah," Dean agreed.

" _Fine, I'll see what I can find but next time we meet, we're having words."_

"Thanks Bobby," Sam said before hanging up the phone. "What now?" he asked Dean.

"We get some shut eye, Bobby will have the answers by tomorrow and we'll go get Emma, easy." Dean explained.

"Okay." Sam answered but he couldn't help the guilty consciousness from kicking his brain.

X

The next day was not as simple or easy as the brothers had hoped, the hours travelled by without a word from Bobby or any new information that would help them find Emma. They had grown bored and sensitive from the lack of answers and their movement being limited to the motel room and two irritated Winchesters stuck together caused five arguments to break out before five in the afternoon. It was finally ten o'clock at night when Sam's phone started ringing, the noise was like an angel playing a harp to their ears. He quickly grabbed it off the table and answered the cell a split second later.

"Hello?" he said hastily.

" _Sam,"_ Bobby replied in a grim tone that made the long-haired hunter's heart sink a little.

"What have you found?" he asked nervously. It took a minute or so on the phone before Sam thanked Bobby bitterly and hung up the phone before chucking it on the bed.

"So, what is it?" Dean asked, now feeling anxious.

"Well a monster did take Emma… it's a Geurouxa."

"A- A Geurouxa, what the hell is that?"

"Bobby said that they're spirits that live in woodlands. They originated from Brazil but now they're god-knows where. No one knows how many there are and loads of hunters think that they're myths- even Bobby did. They like to live in caves in forests but are powerful enough to hide their identity in there, I'm guessing they can also hide their victims and that's why we couldn't find Emma. They disguise themselves as young guys and they target young girls lost in the woods Easy prey, I guess."

"Jesus fucking Christ."

"They pretend like they are also lost and help their victims out of the woods before kissing them. They like… _pure_ girls."

"Pure?" Dean asked curiously before his eyes widened slightly before whispering "ohh…so Emma's p-pure then?"

"You thought she wasn't?" Sam asked in surprise.

"I don't know what kids get up to these days, man! Anyway, it's not like I spent time thinking about it."

Sam sighed. "Anyway, once they've kissed them, they…"

"Yes?"

"They lapse onto their souls like a parasite. They like eating pure girl's souls because the purer a soul is the more energy it gives them, I suppose." He explained through gritted teeth.

"Wait…so is Emma-"

"Dead? Bobby said that there are several myths about these things and it takes three to five days for the soul to be fully eaten."

"Well that's good there's time, how do we kill this bastard then?"

"The myths say that fire and copper touched by an impure soul can kill it."

"Well that's easy." Dean answered confidently.

"Dean how are you taking this so calmly, this isn't just a usual sweet-apple-pie case, this is Emma. It's almost been three days; she could be dead by the time we even find this damn thing!" he said angrily before kicking the motel table over.

"Hey," Dean intervened, grabbing his brother by the shoulders and looking him sternly in the eyes. "This is Emma okay? She'll be strong enough to live for five days-"

"Dean-"

"Look," he said before grabbing the blue fabric that was Emma's hairband. "She escaped this thing remember and the first thing she did was come to tell us that she was in danger, she's smart and she ain't going to die this way, this is just a usual case."

"It's not, we've never faced one of these things before and the only information we have are from fucking myths."

"I know that but we are going to defeat this son of a bitch okay? We're going to save Emma because it's what we do isn't it? Saving people, hunting things-"

"The family business," Sam finished with a light chuckle.

"Exactly little brother, tomorrow, we're going to kill this thing and we'll have Emma back and sure she'll probably be in a hellish state but at least she'll be out of the woods."

"Maybe you're right Dean."

"Hell yes I'm right! But right now we have to prepare to kill this thing, so are you with me?"

"Yeah, I'm with you." Sam agreed quietly.

"Good."

X

"Emma?" she heard from outside the cave. The whole of her body ached, as if every bone was made from lead and her brain felt as if it were slowly being squeezed. She couldn't think and even her imagination was beginning to fail her. There was no escape. But her rational thought was still in enough motion for her to concur that this wasn't Daegal's voice.

"Sa-Sam?" she stuttered in a hoarse whisper, even though her lips were a thousand times heavier.

"Emma?" the voice said again except this time it was Dean. They had come for her? If she had the energy, she would have been grinning right now except all she could do was feel a flicker of hope in her stomach.

"I-I'm he-here," she said, trying to be loud as possible but it was the equivalence of someone speaking in a library.

Two figures appeared in the cave, it was Sam and Dean. It was actually Sam and Dean! They came for her, she was saved. She was going to escape!

"Emma, it's you! We've missed you so much." Sam said happily as his body came into view to strengthen her optimism.

"Come on; let's get you out of here." Dean grinned before getting out a key in his pocket that unlocked the light again. But before he placed it her handcuffs, they disappeared in a puff of smoke. She slowly looked around, where were they? How did they disappear?

"Emma?" a voice said to her right, making her head painfully turn to see her best friend Alex. She looked older than she did when she last saw her, more mature and cheerful. Her lips were a bright red and her eyes were heavily made up in black makeup. But it was the same old Alex, the girl she had missed so much.

"A-Al-ex?" she asked, how was she here?

"Yeah, it's me. Oh my god Emma, you look awful, what's happened?"

"D-Dae-gal." she explained, knowing it wouldn't make sense but she had no energy for words.

"I can't believe I found you here, I thought I'd lost you forever."

"So-sor-ry."

"It's fine don't worry, I forgive you, I know you didn't want to leave. But now it's time to come home."

"Ho-How?"

Alex smiled but, after the redhead blinked, she was gone. Now Alex had disappeared now, where did they go?

"Wow," a voice said to her left, she knew that voice but it sounded so distant. She turned her head to the other side to see her sister, alive. She looked exactly the same age, nineteen, with her eyes the same bright green and her smile still wide and full of joy. She didn't look ill, like she'd had cancer and she instead appeared as something Emma had little memory of: healthy.

"G-Geor-gie…you-you're-"

"I know, I left you a long time ago. I'm sorry. But I'm here now." She answered gracefully.

"H-how?"

"I don't know, maybe it's a miracle. I'm sorry to see you like this. I'm sorry about what happened back home and what happened when I died."

"I kil-led you."

"No, you didn't." she said before placing her hand on Emma's, it was cold but warmer than her own somehow. "I was always going to die Emma; there was no way around it. If anything, I'm glad my suffering had ended, I don't even remember it. And now, I'm at peace and it feels good Em, it feels really good."

"Am I dy-dy-ing then?"

Georgie bowed her head before answering "yes, you're almost there it's just like slowly getting to the top at a rollercoaster, the drop will be over really quickly, it's the nerves that make death feel like it lasts forever."

"Wh-wh-at's he-aven li-ike"?

"It's better than anything you hear in stories, it's unexplainable…but it's perfect. I can't wait for you to join me there. I hate to see you dying like this but I'm so glad that I get to hold your hand in your final moments. We're always going to be there each other in our dying days, one way or another aren't we?"

"A-re y-you re-eal?" Emma asked before feeling the warmth of her sister's hand vanish with the rest of her body. She was alone in the cave, on her own and there was nobody coming to hold her hand, it was just her imagination. But she knew Georgie was right about one thing, she was extremely close to death indeed.

X

"There are two caves in the first ten miles of woodlands; the next ones aren't for maybe another fifteen after that." Everest said in his office, pointing at two locations on a large, A1 map spread out on his table showing the whole of Yellowstone National Park. It was the next day at six in the morning and the boys were more than eager to carry out this rescue mission, despite their lack of sleep and hope.

"Do you think she could be in one of them?" Sam asked the elderly man.

"I don't know, he may have taken her to the nearest cave he found her in." Everett replied whilst massaging his forehead.

"And these two caves are what, four miles apart?" Dean questioned studying the map.

"First cave is six miles west, second is ten miles south."

"Okay, thank you Everett," Sam smiled.

"It's alright boys, just make sure you kill this thing. I'm tired of monsters."

"We can relate." The older brother answered grimly.

They left the hut and went back to the outskirts of the forest where they would hopefully go into for the last time.

"We'll go to one each, it'll be quicker that way." Dean decided. "I'll go to the one that's ten miles, you can go to the other one. After we've searched, we'll meet here," He pointed to a section of the map that looked roughly in-between the two caves.

"Okay," Sam nodded. "And if both of us come back without Emma-"

"Then we'll go to the next cave, I have all day."

"You and me both,"

"Well let's start then." The older brother finalised before making his way into the forest.

They walked for about three quarters of an hour until it was time to split up. Dean's cave was about seven miles away and Sam's was three.

"You've got your copper bullets and blow torch, right?" The leather jacket brother asked.

"Yes, for the last time Dean." The plaid-layered sibling answered in an irritated voice.

"Okay little brother, I was just checking."

"So, I'll see you back here then?"

"Yeah and hopefully one of us will have that little redhead that we're so fond of as well."

"Yeah," the younger brother chuckled. "Good luck."

"You too," Dean said in a serious tone before making his way to his location.

Sam watched his brother disappear into the thickness of trees before he was gone completely, he sighed before looking at his own path. He had a cave to find.

Another seventy minutes later and he was there. He saw the stone making an archway, which was covered in moss and shrubbery, and leading into a deep dark tunnel. Except, when Sam started making his way closer towards the cave, it wasn't dark, he was sure there was a faint, dim orange light illuminating out of the passageway.

He quickly got his gun from his bag and held it firmly in his right hand before slowly entering the cave. He could now see an orange blaze burning brightly from a torch several metres away in the wide tunnel. Slowly and cautiously, he made his way in. As the burning light drew nearer, he saw a body hidden in the shadows, a young, slumped girl with red hair. But her head was hanging so her chin was pressed against her collarbone and her hands were limply lying on the floor to suggest that she was nothing less than…dead.


End file.
